


A Journal, A Will, and Letters

by dearest_sparksandstars



Series: The Forces that Guide Them [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ach-To, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Royalty, BB-8 the falcon, Ben Solo is whiny, Chewie is Han’s hunting dog, Coruscant, Damerey Resistance, D’Qar, F/M, Force Visions, Historical Inaccuracy, Little bits of canon plot, Poe Dameron Hurts So Prettily, Poe can’t help but write love letters because duh, Probably forbidden relationship, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey doesn’t put up with Luke’s BS, Rey is a Skywalker, Rey’s full name is Kira, Sullust, Yavin, rey is the queen, unnecessary inclusions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2019-10-07 21:52:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 39,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17373920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearest_sparksandstars/pseuds/dearest_sparksandstars
Summary: Rey had been Luke’s student at one point in time, and back then, she didn’t know who he really was. He taught her his craft and left her an inheritance that she had no knowledge of. Truly, she had believed that he never really liked her, but maybe he loved her more than she knew.If that were not true, then she wouldn’t have been standing in front of the crowd, a scepter in one hand and an orb in the other, taking his place on the throne of Alderaan. Leia smiled on her right side, Ben Solo trying not to scowl another spot over. Poe Dameron nods at her from beside the enormous cathedral doors, in his dress uniform, hand lingering near the hilt of the blade that hung from his belt. She glanced to Finn and his fiancee, Rose, in the front row, a warm smile on his face. The looks eased her nerves, and she straightened a little bit more.





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is not my first fic ever, but this is the very first time I've shared one! This story has been in the works since early 2018 (probably) and it's near and dear to my heart. I hope you enjoy!

She left the reception far earlier than anyone cared for, but she let the party continue on.

Her mind was racing with the responsibilities that would be thrust upon her in the coming days, and as she slipped the tight gown off, they clung to her skin alongside her exhaustion. She pulled her dressing gown on, and sat down on the bed before pulling her hair out of the do, and tying it up into a messy, loose bun.

With an already exhausted sigh, she sat down on the edge of her bed, and picked up the journal Luke had left for her. She ran her fingers down the delicate leather spine, and flipped open the cover. Inside was a pressed, dry Spinebarrel flower, just like the small, dead pot she had kept of them she had in her home when he had first met her.

She hadn’t been able to bring herself to read it until then. It had felt wrong:

_Rey,_

_If you’re reading this, you’re probably ready to succeed me, or been forced to do so in my absence. I know I never got to tell you before I left, but you have always had the potential to be a great leader, and you brought hope and light back into my sad, old, war-tired heart._

_I couldn’t have known it at the time, but now that we are apart, I realize that I cannot let you go; I love you like you’re my own daughter, and I—_

She’s cut off when the door creaked open, and her eyes, glassy with tears, dart up to meet the visitor.

“Poe,” she sighed, but corrects herself in an instant. “—Commander Dameron.”

“My Lady,” he replied, obviously trying not to let his eyes wander away from her face. “Rey. I was just… I was just making sure you were alright; you didn’t tell me you were leaving.”

“I don’t have to tell you everything, do I?” She mocked with a roll of her eyes and a cheeky smile.

“Actually, you do,” he deadpanned. “As your sworn protector, it is my duty to—”

“Poe,” she cut him off sternly. He met her eyes with a soft compassion. “I know it’s your job, I was only trying to joke.”

“I know,” he muttered sheepishly. “But you have your responsibility as… queen,” he paused for a moment. “And I have mine as the commander of your guard.”

“I may be queen, now, but Poe, I’m still me. I haven’t changed, and neither have you.”

She brushed a curl out of his face with delicate fingers, and he sighed. Her hand falls to his cheek, her touch feather-light on his olive skin.

“Maintain your responsibilities all you like, but don’t lose sight of what’s in front of you, alright?” 

He takes her hand in his and kisses her knuckles with eyes shut.

“I’m right here,” she whispered. “I’m safe, and if anything happens, you know I could take care of myself. I’ve beaten your ass several times, and I’ll do it again if I have to prove it.”

She playfully shoved him, and he laughed finally.

“I get it, I get it,” he added, a twinkle in his eye.

“Now get back to the party!” She cried. “I’m sure there’s plenty of ladies and lords who’d love to dance with the Poe Dameron.”

“Alright,” he resigns with a soft smile. “But it’s not a party without you.”

“Oh shut up,” she laughed, and walked him to the door. 

“Goodnight, M’lady,” he said quietly, standing outside her door frame now. 

She kissed his cheek sweetly.

“Goodnight, Commander,” And as he turned, her gaze lingered for a moment longer than it should have, the door shutting with a click again.

_—have never wanted anything but the best for you. My protege, my last true link to the legacy my family left that was lost with a mistake I made too long ago._

_Rey, I truly believe that I wasn’t mistaken when I met you. I may have despised you at first, but you never ceased to amaze me when I found the Force in you._

_You have a kind heart. A kind heart that I adore, and a kind heart big enough to take on responsibility with a sense of right. A kind heart big enough to find the best in people like you did with me._

_That is what sets you apart, my dear._

_Luke._

-

After she dressed herself the next morning, she was greeted by a steady knock on the door.

Well rested (and not hungover like the rest of them likely were), she smiled and went to greet her visitor.

“Poe, I—” she started, but cut herself off when instead of a face at eye-level, she had to glance up to the narrow-faced man. She opened the door a little wider. “Ben, I wasn’t expecting to see you until breakfast.”

“Clearly,” he scoffed, but corrected himself, and looked down at her again. “But nonetheless, I am here, and my mother request I escort you to the hall. We have some visitors that missed you last night before your early departure.”

“I–” she moved to defend herself, but decided it wasn’t worth it. She sought be more mature with him than they had been once. “Very well, I’ll be along in a moment.”

“Did you not hear me? I’m supposed to escort you.”

“Ben, I’m not just the heir apparent anymore—”

“I get the picture, scavenger, but I’m gonna do my job as to not get scolded by my mother,” he snorted, and she flinched at the cruel nickname he’d begun to use after her arrival. He stood statue-like, watching her as she closes the cover of Luke’s journal.“Like you’d know anything about that.”

She gapes, and turned, raising a hand in preparation to slap him.

“Do it,” he growls. “I dare you.”

Containing herself, she bites down hard on her lip, and sets the journal on her nightstand again, grabbing the delicate circlet, and placing it on her head.

“Come on,” she ordered, not looking back over her shoulder. “Stay a few paces behind, I need to blow some steam.”

“Obviously”

With a huff they continue down the corridor, and as they reach the hall, Rey tried to calm her nerves, but Ben did anything but ease them as he joined her again.

“The Duchess of Gatalenta and the Duke of Arkanis,” he added. “I believe Senator Ematt was supposed to join us as well, but had to return to Lothal for his own diplomatic mission.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “I think I’ve got it.”

“Need me to tell you again?”

“I’ve got it,” she snorts.

The door opened, and they filtered in, towards the small group that had gathered. When the tall woman spotted her, she whispered something to Leia, and stopped to curtsy.

“My lady,” she greets, and the others turn to face them. 

“Duchess, Duke,” she replies, acknowledging both of them.

“It is quite the honor, my queen,” the red-haired duke says, taking her hand and pressing kiss on her knuckles. She almost doesn’t notice his eyes flickering up to Ben’s. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach.

“The Honor is all mine, thank you—”

“Hux. Armitage Hux.”

She dips her head, and smiles sweetly, bringing her hands together, clasping one over the other elegantly, diligently attempting to hide her apprehensiveness.

“You were a duchess from…,” The duchess paused, thinking. “Jakku, was it? Before you came to the city?”

“Amilyn—” Leia scolds quietly. 

“It’s alright,” she answers, and takes a deep, steadying breath, her face serious. “Actually, I was a scavenger when Luke found me. I had no idea who he was, but I became his apprentice, and learned his trade. I only found out after he had died, and written me into his will as his successor.” 

Amilyn Holdo scrunched her nose at that, a gesture almost unnoticeable. 

“And why not Prince Ben?” Hux cuts in, and she shifts uncomfortably. “Was his Majesty not the blood heir?”

“I can’t tell you why King Luke chose me over the Prince,” she looks up to see the distant look in the man in question’s eyes. “But what I can tell you is that I am here now, and I will do everything in my power to preserve this country.”

“Hardly a job for a child,” Holdo scoffed under her breath.

“I beg your pardon?” Rey scowls, her voice raising. 

“It’s nothing, My Queen,” she replied, her tone flat and dry. Leia places an assuring hand on Rey’s shoulder.

“I think that will be all,” Leia tells Holdo. “Commander Dameron–”

Rey had hardly noticed Poe behind them, a quiet, silent eye watching over them. He steps out into the light.

“Please escort Her Majesty to the dining hall. Prince Ben, you will see the Duke to his carriage.”

“And Duchess Holdo?” He asks. 

“I’ll see to it myself, Commander. Now go.”

Rey hesitantly takes the arm that Poe offers, and they start off towards the dining hall. 

Once the others are out of earshot, she lets out a defeated breath and Poe cocks his brow.

“That could’ve gone better,” she mutters.

“It could’ve been much worse, though couldn’t it? Armitage Hux is known for his bitterness and his military strategy.”

“But Holdo? I’ve hardly started the day and–”

“She’s trying to tear you apart?” He groans. “I know the feeling. She hates the idea of me being your first in command.”

“Really?”

“Really. I was Leia’s before I was yours, and they were good friends, so I was at the mercy of her criticism. She was so put out by the idea that me, ‘a farm boy from Yavin IV,’ was to be in command of the Royal Guard.”

“You were the best in your class, and I wouldn’t trust anyone else,” she comments, and nudges him. “And you’re far from a farm boy.”

“Thanks, Rey, but I’ve made mistakes in my time. That’s why she doesn't trust me.”

The dining hall’s door comes into view, and she slips her arm out from his, and steps out to face him.

“And we learn from our mistakes, Poe.”

She brushed her hands on his shoulders, and they rested there.

“And that is why you shouldn’t worry about what other people think—”

“I’m not. I’m not. It’s my first day, give me a break.”

“I love you, you know that?” He laughs, and kisses her forehead.

“I do. I know,” she leans into a warm embrace, savoring the way his presence eased her nerves. “And I love you.”

They part slowly, and enter the hall.

Finn and Rose sit side by side, immersed in a conversation that their arrival does not tear their attention from it.

Rey sits at the head, and a servant places a tray in front of her. Poe finds his place behind her, taking first position and clasping his hands behind his back.


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twelve months earlier, Rey receives a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kind of short but I’ve figures out some things and hopefully it makes stuff *slightly* clearer.

_Twelve months earlier_

Rey lowered the tool she held to the table, and turned away from her workbench, frustrated with the piece of work Unkar had thrust on her. A a heavy knock thudded on the door.

Her footsteps were heavy, and her brow was sticky with sweat, a distasteful result of the intense heat of the Jakku desert. 

Another thud fell on the door. Rey muttered something unintelligible under her breath.

“Alright! I’m coming!”

She pushed the door open to reveal a woman that is well dressed and almost instantly recognizable. She suddenly felt embarrassed at her current appearance.

“Your Majesty,” Rey curtsied low and gracefully like she had been taught all those months ago. “What an honor.”

“Are you the scavenger Rey?”

“Yes, your Majesty,” Rey shook her head as if trying to convince herself this situation was real. The princess was looking for her. “How might I be of service?”

“May we come in?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied politely, holding the door open for Princess Leia and who she assumed to be her personal guard, whom Rey had yet to notice. 

They filed into her small, one room hut without complaint. Suddenly aware of the mess, she fumbled with the doorknob anxiously. Closing the door behind them, Rey glanced at the soldier’s face, greeted by a reassuring nod, and turned, finally, to come face to face with a hero of the country and a woman representing world renowned leadership.

“The King was found dead yesterday evening,” Princess Leia whispered once she was sure they were alone.

“Oh,” Rey replied, curt and polite. Her voice sounded gentle and almost forced in her own mind.“My sincerest condolences.”

“I might say the same thing for you, my dear.”

“I’m sorry?” Rey’s mind slammed to a halt, and her eyes grew wide.

“The King took a voyage a few months ago. No one knows where he went or what he did but now,” the princess locked eyes with the young woman.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“It has become clear to us exactly what he did.”

She makes a gesture to something behind Rey, and the guard’s eyes were wide like saucers filled with nostalgia, amazement, and a dash of regret. She turned her head slowly, and yelped as the tools she had been using moments before their arrival had clattered to the ground from where they had been levitating.

“Um,” she mumbled, and composed herself. “I didn’t know His Majesty, but an old man came about these parts about six months ago, he taught me… h-his trade. Taught me to be… more civilized.”

“And his name?”

“Luke. Just Luke.”

The Princess met the eyes of her guard.

“Commander Dameron, if you may, assist Miss Rey in packing her things. She will be returning with us to the palace.” 

“What is the meaning of this, Ma’am?” Rey burst before she even knew what she had said.

“All will be clear in time, my dear.”

Rey wanted to object, but she had already broken formalities, and wished not to further disrespect the monarch.

“If you would excuse me, I must take my leave. Take whatever time you need to collect your things, Rey. Commander Dameron has the time. We’ll be awaiting your arrival at the palace diligently.”

Before Rey can protest, Leia is gone, and she is left alone with Commander Dameron.

He smiled kindly, and stuck out a hand.

“I’m Poe.”

She studied his hand before taking it gently. It was calloused and rough against the sanded, smooth palms that were her own.

“Rey.”

“I know,” he sighed. Her stomach fluttered as his warm grip slipped from hers. “You and I are going to be spending a lot of time together, and I hope that we can get along.”

She smirked sheepishly, and shifted so she faced the workbench. She bent to a cabinet, and pulled out her beaten-up rucksack. Sand poured out of it as she turned it over, and brushed it off with the back of her hand. She picked the doll that had fallen out into her hand, and turned it over gently.

“That hope is mutual, Commander. If the Princess keeps you in such close companionship then you must be good company.”

She began collecting her things into her scavenging bag, and he came up beside her slowly.

“The King was a stubborn man, so you must have a quality admirable enough that he stayed around.”

“That’s funny,” she muttered, still coming to terms with the fact that she had become the student of royalty unknowingly. “If Luke made anything clear in our few months together it was that he most certainly despised me.”

“I can’t imagine why,” he replied, no sarcasm evident, and she met his eyes with a gentle blush dusting her cheeks. They were only a breath apart in that moment, and the spell was only broken when he scolded himself in another language under his breath and stepped away.

Rey sighed, breathless, and glanced at the knight doll she had made for herself as a child, it’s gray fabric, and orange and blue sash stirring odd feelings inside of her. She fought tears as the memories of her time alone bathed in her pain, each dreaded day under the iron fist of Unkar Plutt marked by a tally. Hundreds, thousands of them covered her walls, and she supposed it was time to let go of it all.

She glanced at Commander Dameron over her shoulder, and then back at the doll. No, she wouldn’t let go of the doll yet, but maybe, just maybe, she’d let go of the past that never was.

Moments later, they stepped out into the dry, desert sun, and moved to where an armored horse was strung up near the mostly empty water trough. He was a slick, black stallion and his silver armor had orange stripes of that belonging to a commanding officer from the Palace.

Commander Dameron took her bag before she mounted, and slung it over his shoulder. He too, mounted behind her, and soon they were on their way.

-

The great, wealthy city of Alderaan was dazzling for a nowhere-girl like herself, and Rey found herself shrinking in the shadow of her glistening destination. The Palace Guards at the gate did not take well to a commoner on the back of a Palace Horse. Commander Dameron snapped orders at them, and they reluctantly let him pass.

He gave her belongings back to her as he dismounted, and offered her an arm as they approached the main foyer. Feeling significantly underdressed under the scrutinizing gazes of visiting nobility, she clung closer to the Commander as the servants opened the doors for them.

“Ma’am, Commander Dameron And Miss Rey,” they were announced, and stepped into the office. 

Leia set her quill down when Poe slipped away from her grip and stood in his respectful place by the door. Rey glanced over her shoulder as the door slammed behind her. She didn’t jump, but had fully intended to.

“I imagine this is quite odd for you, Rey,” The regal woman addressed her diplomatically, and she snapped out of her distraction to face her. “But I’m afraid that it’s about to get a lot harder. Please, my dear, I think you might need to have a seat.”

Remaining silent, she swallowed her voice and took the small chair in front of the desk. 

The Princess took out a small, folded parchment and handed it to Rey. 

“Please read the fourth and final section, aloud or to yourself.”

Rey’s eyes fell to the delicate parchment in her hands, and she took a deep breath, her eyes already scanning:

_And Finally,_

_I, Luke Skywalker, leave three quarters of my inheritance to my apprentice, Kira “Rey” of the small village of Niima. The fourth quarter shall be left to my nephew, Benjamin Solo._

_It is my hope that Kira shall take the name Skywalker, for I not only leave her a portion of my wealth, but I leave her the throne. I would trust no one else but my own sister with my country as its sovereign—_

Rey fumbled with the paper, and suppressed her astonishment as she looked to the woman in front of her and back to the final sentence.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am, there must be a mistake,” Rey pleaded, panic flushing her skin a bright red. “I’m no sovereign. I have no significant blood. The King must have had an heir, correct? Why not them? Why not you?”

Leia sighed.

“It seems, since my brother had no child by blood, he selected you as his heir.” The woman stood. “And as for me, I did my time as leader during the rebellion; I do not wish for the responsibility of the throne any longer.”

Rey felt the room begin spin around her, and was grateful that she had sat down. 

“I know this is sudden, but if Luke believed that you were suited for the crown, then as the Princess I shall do everything in my power to make it so.”

She paused, and met Rey’s eyes with a faithful twinkle.

“It is protocol that you be assigned a personal protector,” Leia glanced at Poe, who remained by the door. “So I have selected Commander Dameron, for he has been forever loyal with his assignment to me that I would trust no one else with your safety.”

“Permission to speak, ma’am,” Dameron interjected suddenly. 

“Granted, Poe.”

“Thank you for the promotion, ma’am, but—”

“But?” Leia echoed, and Rey turned to look at him, their eyes locking for a moment before they returned to Leia. He seemed to reconsider his original question, taking a moment to correct himself.

“But what about you? Who shall protect you?”

“As Commander of Her Majesty’s Guard,” Rey flinched at her new title. It didn’t sit right. “That is up to you. I am no longer in charge, but I hope to meet whoever you see fit for the job as soon as possible.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Yes, Leia,” she corrected, before turning back to Rey. “I hope you’ll consider taking the name, but you are not rejecting this, correct?”

Rey took a panicked breath, and sighed. 

“If it is what Luke wants… wanted, then I accept, but I’m n-not sure I’m ready.”

Leia held out her hand, and she hesitantly took it. 

“You have everything you need,” Leia whispered, and looked up to Poe. She looked to her feet, and tried to pull through an agonizing moment of silence. 

After that moment, the Princess spoke again. “Commander, please take Ms. Rey to her rooms.”

Rey rose to her feet, and curtsied again before slowly stepping toward the door, and Poe followed her out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hence “A Will” in the title. All will be revealed soon ;)


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three months after the coronation, Rey finds quiet in the gardens, Ben is whiny, and Poe makes a suggestion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly a transition. There’s minor plot points here and there but for the most part it’s basically the calm before stuff starts going wrong.

_Present_

It had been nearly three months since the coronation had come to pass, and Rey was beginning to slip into the rhythm of the job. Every moment when her schedule is free, she finds herself among the hedges of the palace gardens.

In the middle of spring, the beautiful blossoms of exotic flowers bloom around the stunning, green flora, and every day she discovers a new corner to feed her love of plants. 

The journal clutched in her hands, she slips out undetected by Commander Dameron, by _Finn_ for that matter, and a moment alone suddenly became extremely valuable.

Rey had spent her whole life alone, waiting for a family that would never come back. Then again, maybe she did find what she was looking for. 

Shaking her head, she turns the corner into a small garden, a wooden swing hanging from the high branches of the tree that draped leaves beautifully down into the courtyard. She sat on the swing, and opened the journal, flipping to the next page she had yet to read, and examined the shards of crystal that had been attached to the page in a small envelope.

_Rey,_

_In my time as King of this country that we live in, I was expected to take a Queen. Someone who might rule by my side and be a symbol that represented love and beauty to the people._

_It is my deepest regret that I told no one of my dearest Mara, or as most knew her, Duchess Jade of the great land of Coruscant. I loved her with all of my heart, and she may be the only reason that I met you._

_The news of her death brought me great sorrow, and in my grief, I found myself falling out of my responsibilities within the next several years… sixteen years to be exact...and departed on a journey. The Force guided me to Jakku, and ultimately to you._

_It is my deepest regret that I could not bring myself to love her openly, for I was too afraid that her affiliations with the Old Empire would cause great distress among my subjects._

_I do not want that for you. If you love someone, shout it to the world. Do not lock your heart away. If you find a man or a woman that you love, I encourage you to act upon it. That is how people win wars; not by fighting what they hate, but saving what they love._

_I do not care what the people may think of you. Be bold in your love. By having you take my place, Rey, I am being bold in my love, I am declaring my love for you to my country, my beautiful daughter, by blood or not, and you are not alone._

_You will never be alone again._

_Luke._

She delicately traces his signature with her pinky finger, and rests her hand on the parchment with a sigh. She holds back tears valiantly, and takes in a shaky breath. She’d never forgive herself for forcing Luke to leave.

“Rey?” 

Her head jolts up to the source of the voice. Poe stands only a few meters away, looking her up and down for any sign of harm. 

“Poe,” she whispers, remembering the scrawl of Luke’s words on the page the journal still opened to.

He takes a few steps towards her, slow and careful. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked quietly.

“Oh, nothing,” she smiles gently, looking at the soft, green grass. “Just thinking.”

He huffs. “In the gardens, by yourself?”

“Needing time to be a normal person,” she scoffed in return, playfully. “It’s not everyday that I can have some time to myself.”

“So long as I’m around, I can’t allow that.”

“Is that so, Commander?”

“With the threats on our borders, the need for your safety continues to grow.”

“As does the need for me to have the personal space to get rid of my stress.”

“Maybe, you’d like to travel then.”

Her mind reels at the sudden change of subject.

“In a time such as this?”

“The First Order is more a threat to morale in the country than a threat to our people’s lives. They want to overthrow the crown, not kill our people.”

“You don’t know that,” she whispers, standing to meet him. “The reports coming in are horrid.”

“Then we bring hope to our people,” he whispers. “By traveling to every region, and showing the Order we are not afraid.”

She smiles gently, now only a breath away from him. Looking deep into his eyes, she chuckled.

“You’re just looking for an excuse to visit your home.”

He laughs and rests his arm around her waist, resting his forehead on hers. 

“Perhaps,” he whispered as she placed a hand on his chest, the other on his shoulder.

“I’ll take it up with the Leia and the visiting senators as soon as I can,” she said with a gentle smile, leaning forward. Their noses brush sweetly—

“Am I interrupting something?”

Rey pulled away swiftly, and looked to Ben Solo across the small area of the garden. The blood rushes to her face, and embarrassed, she tucks her hair behind her ear, and awkwardly clasps her hands in front of her.

“No, sir,” Poe assured, voice forced, just as embarrassed, but more controlled.

“Then I might take _Her Majesty_ from you,” Ben emphasizes the title, and Rey blinks when Poe doesn’t flinch. “She does have an appointment to attend to.”

“Of course, sir,” Poe grumbled, and Rey looked at him meaningfully.

“I’ll talk to Leia about your suggestion,” she whispered, just loud enough so Ben couldn’t overhear. “I think it’s a good idea.” She stopped, and looked back at him over her shoulder. “I’ll see you after my meeting, okay?”

“Oh,” She could see the heat in his cheeks. “Of course, My Lady. As you wish.”

She sighed, and turned back to Ben, who as she approached offered her his arm. Politely, she took it. She brought the journal to her chest as she leaned against the taller man.

“The Senate will never approve of it,” Ben growled as they stepped inside the hall again. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she dismissed, fixing her eyes ahead.

“Good gods, Rey, do you think I’m an idiot?”

She slipped from his grip, and her heels clicked on the cobblestone as she halted in front of him.

“Commander Dameron is my most trusted companion. That is all.”

“I am aware that your companionship with him is intimate, but what I saw was far more intimate than companionship—”

“Leave it alone, Ben!” She pleads, her grip tightening on the journal. 

“Not until you tell me the truth.”

Her nostrils flare, and she clenches her jaw. She remembers Luke’s words, and harshly lets out a breath.

“You shall speak of this to no one,” she jabs a finger into his chest, and he flinched with the intensity of her voice. “I love Poe Dameron–” she hesitates. “–and I’m not ashamed of it, but my people will hear about it on my terms. Not yours, alright? Right now I have a responsibility to my country, a country on the verge of war, a responsibility I take very seriously, and I can’t let the controversy distract from the imminent threat on our borders.”

“Your responsibility is not just to rule, but to produce an heir with a suitable husband.”

“Oh, you forget yourself,” she scolded. “You don’t think I know about Lieutenant Lintra?”

He gaped at her, surprised at how quickly she turned the situation against him.

“I would never deny you your love, so why deny me mine?”

“Dameron is a member of the royal guard!”

“Miss Lintra is as well, and Commander Dameron is the son of the Duke of Yavin!”

“Yes, Rey, but I am not the Crown.” He shoots her a scowl.

“That shouldn’t make a difference. I–”

“Forget I said anything,” he grumbled, cutting her off. “It’s not like you’ll listen to me anyway. If this gets out of hand, I will tell.”

She scoffed, and stormed ahead of him. 

As the meeting came to it’s close, Rey gathered the journal to her chest and approached Leia. 

“What is it, my dear?”

“It has come to my attention,” Rey cleared her throat, her eyes gently flicking to Ben who still scowled at her. “That the, uh, morale is low among our people. One of my… advisors suggest we take a trip through the country. They thought that it would affirm that we are not afraid of the First Order, and make our people feel safer.”

“Let me guess,” Leia muttered, and they left the room together. “Poe suggested this?”

“That obvious?” Rey laughed.

“Remember that he was my Commander before he was yours,” she smiled. “But I think it’s an intriguing idea. I’ll take it up with the senators later today.”

“Thank you, ma’am. It would mean a lot to me.”

-

“Bloody hell,” Rey growls as she slammed the door to her study behind her, thinking she was alone. “Bloody _kriffing hell_.”

She throws the journal onto the table.

“Such language, my Queen!”

She whips around. Finn stands on the balcony, looking out over the city, Poe beside him. Poe’s face shifts when he sees her distress, and he doesn’t question it.

“I’m sorry, Storm, but I simply want to punch Ben Solo in his smug, whiny face, and I don’t know which ladylike terms you’d prefer I use.”

“What did that jackass do this time?”

“And you curse my language?”

He rolled his eyes, and Poe moved to her side. 

“If he hurt you—” he started but she cut him off with a pointed stare. 

“No,” she placed a reassuring hand on his chest. “No, he wouldn’t.”

“Princess Organa would tear him up if he did,” Finn muttered. 

“Force, Poe, you really think he’d do that?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.”

“Should I leave you two?” Finn interrupts, reading into the situation further.

“No,” she replied, but Poe sighs, taking her hand in his own, furrowing his brow. Rey rolled her eyes with a huff.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he groans. “I’m hoping to find my lovely Rose in the gardens.”

He makes a move for the door before Rey can get the chance to stop him. It clicks shut, and Rey slips from Poe’s grip, and placed both of her hands on her desk. She hangs her head. He placed a hand between her shoulder blades and worked at the knots of stress in her back.

“Leia thought it was a good idea,” she whispered, more calm than she had been. 

“Yeah?” He sighed, his rub slowing. “Then what’s wrong?”

“Ben’s threatened to tell on us.”

“It’s not a crime to be in love, sunshine,” he laughed gently. It’s a warm sound, and it fills her chest with that same warmth.

“But the senate would tear me apart,” she cried. “I don’t want to lose Luke’s legacy simply because I wasn’t brave enough to tell my country I loved someone.”

“Then be brave,” he sighed. “Marry me.”

She straightened and turned to look at him full frontal, surprised by the brash suggestion that seemed much unlike him.

“It’s not that simple, Poe,” she feels the heat in her cheeks. “It’ll never be that simple.”

“I know,” he pulled the chain out from under his uniform. “But I’m still going to give this to you.”

“Your mother’s ring,” she whispered, and he took her hand, dropping it into her open palm, and closing her hand around it. “I couldn’t–”

“Please. We’ll figure this out later.”

He brushed a curl out of her eyes, and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. She blinked her thoughts away and focused on the moment. Closing her eyes, she nodded and leaned into him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poe is a hopeless romantic, and no one can convince me otherwise.


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Coruscant dinner and ball insight certain decisions for Rey. Ben tries to find his center in the wake of newfound strength.

_Dearest Rey,_

_I hope that your travels you bring about exactly what you hoped they would. It is one of my deepest regrets that I, among others, could not accompany you, the Commander, my son, and the rest of your party in your endeavors across our country. I hope that you might find yourself in the places the flow with the Force; those places my brother loved so much._

_And now, as something of a… mother figure, I hope that you can be truthful about your engagement to Poe–_

Rey reread the sentence, convinced that as the letter blew in the wind, she had seen it incorrectly. 

_–I hope that you can be truthful about your engagement to Poe–_

(She blinked. She had read it correctly.)

_–and that you might take the opportunity to share it with your country. Yes, I know about it. Your future consort learned very quickly that he cannot keep secrets from me for long._

_Please, just stay safe, and keep an eye out for Ben. He’s been in a dark place after Lieutenant Lintra vanished. Yes, I knew about her, too._

_Your responsibility is to your country and to your people, and by traveling to them, you are proving your loyalty to them as their Queen._

_Do not lose hope._

_Trust the Force._

_-Leia_

Rey huffed quietly, shaking her head at Leia’s intrepid words, folding the parchment carefully before turning it over in her hands.

They had just arrived in Coruscant a few hours previous, having already paid visit to Naboo, Sullust, Utapau, and Hosnian, among other mid-rim and core cities. It was a big city, bigger than Hosnian Prime, and had once been the center of the country. Rey knew that it’s inhabitants were still bitter about the move to Alderaan, and she’d do her best to skirt the subject.

She was to meet with the nobility at dinner in half an hour, and then attend a ball in her honor almost immediately following. Looking down at the letter again, she realized that this would be the best time to reveal what Leia asked of her.

“Ready, ma’am?” A servant called. The letter had come while they were doing her makeup. “We mustn’t dawdle any longer if you want to arrive on time.”

“Yes, Thank you,” She replies, placing the letter on the vanity as she sat. “Just something simple please.”

The woman hummed and began her work.

Her gown was a dark blue with a deep-v neckline, three-quarter sleeves, and a long, tulle skirt with a gentle shimmer. A simple circlet is placed in her curls, which are tied into three buns, in a vertical row on the back of her head.

A knock came to the door, and she slipped the ring on her finger and stepped into her heels. She opened it, and smiled gently at the figure before her.

“You look… wow,” Poe stuttered. 

“You look pretty sharp yourself, Commander,” she sighs, studying his dark suit, and his freshly shaven face. She takes his arm, and he looks down at her hands.

“You’re wearing it,” he notes. “I thought you wanted to wait.”

“I think it’s the right time.”

“Leia encouraged you,” he mutters.

“Leia encouraged me,” she confesses as they begin to walk towards the dining hall. “She sent a letter. Wants me to keep an eye out on Ben.”

“Tallie’s gone,” he sighed. “She was a fighter, that one.”

“Would I have liked her?”

“I’m almost certain.”

They see Ben waiting for them, and they separate. He turned to them, and the dark rings under his eyes are obvious in the light of the hallway. Submissively, he offers her an arm, and the door opens.

The long table is lined with senators and nobility, standing upon her arrival. She smiles brightly, and moves to her chair at the head of the table.

She picks up her glass, and smiles again.

“Thank you, Duke and Duchess Jade, for hosting us here tonight. It is quite an honor to be here,” she begins, nodding at the couple a few seats down. “In a time at which the country veers towards war, it is difficult to stand by and watch as our people suffer. The Prince and I are here to uphold the hope in our homeland. I encourage all of you that, as you return home tomorrow or in the coming days, you continue to fight for what you believe in.”

“Hear, hear!” A senator raises his glass.

“To all that we hold dear,” she toasts. The crowd murmurs their response, and she takes a seat, and they all quickly follow.

Their meal is revealed, and the room is filled with lively chatter. Thinking about the threat on the borders, she loses her appetite fairly quickly, and Poe who had sat beside her, notices fairly quickly.

“My lady, are you alright?” He inquires, careful to use formalities. 

“Yes, Commander,” she replies. “I’m just not terribly hungry.”

Placing her utensils on the table she takes a sip of wine. It’s far more bitter than what she’s used to, and fights the urge to grimace.

Dinner passes without fail, and they move to the ballroom where guests from all around have gathered.

She walks alongside the Duke and Duchess as they approach the hall. They tell her a lively story that she doesn’t hear most of, laughing and smiling politely as they go along.

The Duke’s tone shifts quickly, and she is drawn back in. “My sister, Mara,” he sighed. “She died around the time the king disappeared. She had been betrothed to the prince of a neighboring country, and our mother claims it was suicide. We were never allowed to see her before she was laid to rest.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she whispers, knowing that it was likely the truth, given her history with Luke. “She sounds like she was quite the lovely woman.”

There’s a pregnant pause.

“Have you thought of betrothal at all, My Queen?” The Duchess tries.

“I have, yes,” Rey answers truthfully. “But I fear the senate will not like my choice given the man’s position.”

Her eyes flicker to Poe, who walks ahead of them obviously trying to get Ben to smile. His laugh is infectious, and she smiles to herself when Ben finally huffs a laugh.

In her moment of silence, the Duke gets caught up by another conversation.

“The Duke of Yavin’s successor, no?”

She turns to Duchess Jade, surprised. 

“Duchess, I–”

“Please, just Nya,” the older woman smiles. “He’s quite taken with you, he kept fawning over you at dinner. And he’s handsome, too.”

“He’s my Commander, that’s his job.”

“It’s his job to be handsome? Oh, don’t be so coy, Rey,” she laughs the informality, and she blinks. “I was young once, too, you know.”

“What do you think they’ll do?”

“What can they do? They let Leia marry Han back in the day, and he was a smuggler. Why not let you marry someone from a reasonable background, someone who is going to protect you?”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Just be happy Devon didn’t thrust our son on you. He just wants to drag the monarchy back to Coruscant like everyone else.”

Rey snorts as she laughs, and covers her mouth, embarrassed. She is greeted with a warm smile from Poe, which causes her to blush harder and laugh again, and Nya gestures for her to go.

“Thank you, Duchess Jade, for the pep talk,” she calls over her shoulder, still giggling.

“Anytime, my Queen.”

-

“Her majesty, the Queen, and Commander Poe Dameron of Yavin,” A loud voice introduces them to the gathered crowd. Everyone applauds as she smiles and waves while the descend the main staircase into the ballroom.

“Dance with me?” She asks gently, through the forced smile.

“Always, my love,” he whispers a reply. The Great doors shut behind them, and they shift into a dancing position in the center of the ballroom, the floor clear, and Rey realizes it was only the two of them in the center.

The music begins, a gorgeous string symphony, and they fall into a complicated Coruscanti waltz. She laughs as he spins her, and the crowd applauses when he lifts her by the waist.

As the music swells again, they take broader steps, sweeping across the dancefloor and closer to the edge of the crowd. They spin together, and he dips her down low, a joyful smile on his face, and a laugh on her lips. At the end, he bows to her respectfully, and she curtsies low. The crowd roars, and others join them on the dancefloor. It’s a simpler dance, and they are pushed closer together, the amount of bodies around them rapidly increasing.

“I want to tell them,” she declared, speaking over the music. It was a finality from her earlier statement. 

He laughs, and she furrows her brow. He realizes, and he stops laughing in an instant.

“You’re being serious?” His eyebrow arches, and he spins her along with the dance. “I wasn’t so sure you’d go through with it.”

A gentle nod, and his hand comes to her face. She catches the eye of Ben, looking to be more broodful than ever, and she pulls his hand away.

“Not here, but brunch tomorrow, when it’s simply us and the senate.”

She smiles softly, and as the dance comes to a close, he leads her back to her seat at the head table.

-

_Ten months earlier_

Leia straightened the sash, and Rey sighed. The cream dress was far more ornate than it needed to be, at least in her opinion. Her hair was gently curled, and her bangs were pulled back. Her makeup was delicate and yet oddly beautiful.

“There,” the woman sighed. “Now you’re ready.”

Rey fiddled with her hands nervously, and glanced at Leia who was studying her carefully.

“They’re going to love you dear, no need to worry.”

She’d only been at the palace for a few months months, and half of it had been spent planning the very ball they were moments from attending. In a whirlwind, she’d learned so much regarding her social standing, and the way the country’s government functioned.

When she had arrived, she had barely crossed the threshold of her twentieth birthday, and after five months, she was finally of age to ascend the throne. On the cusp of coronation, she had begun to feel more doubts about herself than she ever had in her life.

“Of course… I– thank you,” she sighs finally. “For everything.”

Leia’s face softens and she places a calming hand on her lower back. Rey smiled over her shoulder, and Leia pulled away her hand, leaving the two of them the room. Poe stood behind her, wearing his own dress uniform. The corners of his mouth were pulled up sweetly as he watched her. 

“You know, a few months ago, I’d never guess you’d actually be doing this.” 

She turns to face him, face burning under his gaze. It was difficult to tell if he was impressed with her or insulting her.

“You’ll be quite good at it once you step up to it, I think. The politics. Being pretty doesn’t hurt either.”

“You think I’m… pretty?” She manages, only after registering the compliment. He furrows his brow, flushing a brilliant red all the way to the tips of his ears.

“I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Commander, you did.”

“Forgive me, my lady.”

“I take no mind,” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment. “I happen to think you’re quite handsome, yourself.”

“You flatter, Lady Rey.”

“I was just stating my opinion, no flattery intended,” she replies taking a step closer to him. Her heart raced, she could feel the power pulsing inside her–

Something clangs to the ground as she realizes what she had been doing.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ve been trying to control it, but when my feelings are–” she’s closer to him now, only a breath away, and he looks down, shushing her ramble.

“My lady, you are to be Queen. This is terribly improper.”

“You’ve never been someone who chooses proper, Poe. If I do recall, you left your family when you were sixteen to join the Navy.”

She smiles gently as he stutters. He must’ve been surprised that she remembered that. She shakes herself out of the thought. 

“I’m sorry if I have offended you, Commander,” she whispers, but he reaches for her wrist as she tries to turn away. She meets his eyes finally, and there’s a quiet plea behind them.

“Force forgive me for what I’m about to do,” he mutters, and cups her cheek. His calloused hand is warm against her skin, and he leans in, his lips brushing against hers gently. 

He makes an attempt to pull away, but she grabs the back of his neck and kisses him with more feeling than she knew she could. Force, he would never know how long she had been waiting to do that.

She breaks the embrace and laughs against his lips, a kind, lively sound. 

There’s a knock on the door, and they shoot apart. 

“My lady, they are expecting you in five minutes,” came the muffled voice of a servant from the other side. She swallowed, clearing her throat, face burning with a flustered blush as she felt Poe’s eyes scan her hungrily. 

“Yes, of course. I’ll be a moment.”

Footsteps faded, and she turned to face him again. His eyes glittered, and he chuckled. 

“Close call.”

His lips are stained red, she notices, trying not to condone the fact she was staring. 

“Oh,” she sighs to herself, a warm feeling growing in her chest. 

Cursing herself, she takes her thumb and wipes away the lipstick slowly, and finally steps out of the room, leaving him to run after her flusteredly.

He calls after her but they’re already announcing her, the huge doors opening to reveal a ballroom full of guests and blinding lights.

-

_Present_

The meditative state she’s taken, cross legged on a chair on the balcony the next day, is a peaceful practice she often didn’t take up.

With the senate brunch in an hour, she found it better to shake the nerves this way, the way that Luke taught her, than to simply brush it off as she normally would. 

The only problem, was that Coruscant was a loud, bustling city, more bustling than Hosnian, and it wasn’t helping her focus. She gritted her teeth, and when the door creaked open behind her, her eyes snapped open as well, and her gaze whipped over her shoulder angrily. 

Ben looked surprised, but she bit down on the inside of her cheek to calm herself. The Force pulsed around her, and she clenched her fist.

“Sorry if I’m bothering you,” he growled, he himself trying to calm the power in his veins, raw strength he’d been developing as they traveled. 

“No, I’m sorry,” she replied, a little gentler. “What do you need? I’ve got a few minutes.”

He walks closer, and she can see the hesitation on his face, but he holds out his hands, and she gestures for him to sit beside her.

“I used to be able to control it–”

“You had your center in Alderaan, this is the first time you’ve been away in months. Give me your hands.”

“But why should you be any different–” she cuts him off by raising her eyebrows. 

“Hands.”

Groaning, he placed them palm up beside her. She turns in the chair to face him. 

“Trust me, okay?”

He nodded slowly, and she closed her eyes, pressing her palms into his. The touch is warm, and she wills the Force to connect them. 

She plunged them into his memories, grabbing hold of the good ones, the ones that glow and give him strength.

She grabs his hand as Leia sings him a lullaby, and he’s just a young boy, afraid to sleep because of nightmares. It’s a lullaby she’d heard only once before, a long time ago. She almost lets a bitter thought escape her, but that would have destroyed the golden vision she’d created right then and there. 

It shifts, and his grip falls, but the warmth of his palms on hers still lingers.

He’s a teenager then, riding horseback through a forest, gripping the white-pelted creature by the neck, laughing as he looked over his right shoulder, another rider jetting past him on his left. The rider of the young, sleek-black horse pulls up and turns, stopping in front of the young Ben.

(Rey recognized him instantly, smiling gently at his youthful face, full of joy, and free of stress.)

Ben’s horse reared up, throwing the young boy on the ground, and Poe jumped off his own to help him.

The real Ben moved to touch the horse’s pelt, calming it with his touch. The boys speak, and it’s muffled in her ears; the memory isn’t her own. She feels as though she is intruding, and she looks down at her feet. 

As she blinks, the vision shifts yet again, and she sees Ben sneering to himself at Leia’s desk. She recognizes Luke’s will on the desk, and the door opens behind him. He rises to his feet, and the real Ben’s figure skirts the room. 

She watches as she herself enters, looking timid and uncomfortable in a too-nice dress. She catches Poe shutting the door behind her, and suddenly remembers this very moment. 

“Hello,” she hears her own voice echo through the dreamscape, almost alien.

Her eyes dart to Ben’s, and he looks at her sadly, tears filling his eyes. 

The room darkens and shifts, and the vision Ben has a more recent appearance. His face is frustrated, and there’s another young woman in the room, her voice muffled, but angry. Rey doesn’t recognize her, but is almost sure of who it is. When she meets his eyes, it’s clear that Ben is forcing the scene to change.

The vision morphed and twisted yet again, this time at Ben’s hand. The Force waves an angry red flag, but still she dove deeper into it. She quickly realized that they had moved backwards yet again.

Flames licked the building in front of her, and a shadow fell behind her, and she turned slowly, catching a glimpse of tall, dark figure wielding a crimson blade–

Ben ripped his hands away from hers, anger burning behind his glare.

“You’ve never gone that far before,” he wiped his eyes, pulling away, and standing up again. “You were never supposed to see that.”

“Ben, I–”

She didn’t have time to respond before he turned and stormed away, slamming the door behind him. 

Rey stands hesitantly, shaking slightly. She checks her appearance, and starts towards the dining hall, mind buzzing with the image of the mask-clad figure.

-

At the end of brunch, she stands, shaking, with an odd set of nerves falling over her. 

“I’d like to make an announcement,” she vocalized after a brief moment of their eyes on her. “I apologize, for I have not had the opportunity to speak to the Senate as a whole about this matter. The matter of my betrothal. Personally, I believe that any monarch has the strength to rule on their own, but I have found myself bound to someone who has been by my side since I arrived at the palace.”

She swallowed as murmurs whispered out across the crowd.

“Commander Dameron,” The murmurs rise. “Son of the Duke, Kes Dameron, has gotten me where I am today, but has poured his heart out to me, and I him. This man is my center.” She finds Ben’s face across the room. He avoids her gaze. “I… I have already accepted his proposal, but I ask of your approval to marry him in the coming months.”

The room is silent, and she surveys it carefully, trying her best to paint neutrality on her face like anyone would. She tries not to let the Force swell uncontrollably around her, as the senators begin to discuss at the other end of the table.

After a few terrifying moments, they quiet down again, and the representative from Naboo stands. Her young face is almost comforting. Almost.

“When will you be traveling to Yavin, my lady?”

“It’s our next stop, Senator.”

“Where better than the Commander’s home duchy to make the official announcement?”

Rey lets out a breath she didn’t know that she’d been holding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was longer than I thought it was at first. There’s a lot of subtle hints here and there. I probably won’t update again for a few day, but next time, the crew heads to Yavin!! So yay!! *laughs nervously*


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A storm brews in Yavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rain is a symbol of change.

With a gentle, resolved smile, she watched Poe be reunited with his father. He had moved ahead of their party, and she nodded at him as he looked over his shoulder at her.

As they approached them, one of her other guards, Temmin “Snap” Wexley, helped her off her horse, gripping her hand gently.

“Thank you, Captain,” she acknowledged, and he dipped his head at her curtly. 

She smiled gently, and went to join Poe and his father. 

“Dad, this is–”

“Rey, Her Majesty the Queen,” he took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “An incredible pleasure. A blessing from the Force.”

“Mr. Dameron, I don’t believe that all this is necessary,” she took his hand in both of her own. “The pleasure is mine in being here.”

“Of course, but an honor to house the Crown in our humble home.”

She smiled at him, and Kes Dameron led them to the entrance to the grounds.

It wasn’t quite as grand as some of the other estates they had visited. It’s architecture was more modern that most of them, however, and the buildings were split up instead of stacked, leaving a beautiful courtyard and garden in the open area between them.

As they step under a large archway, Rey feels the Force rise in her stomach. She makes an attempt to follow Kes, but as it calls to her she must stop, her eyes peering into the branches of the beautiful tree. Her mouth agape slightly, she blinks in its soft, blue glow, reaching out a hand to its trunk slowly. 

She’s conscious of Poe watching her from behind, and his father stopping in his tracks in the opposite archway.

She brushed her fingertips against the bark, and thousands of tendrils of the Force coil around her signature and pull her into its warmth. She’s suddenly overly aware of every living creature in the world, Poe and Kes and the tree all glowing a stunning, blinding golden beside her. 

But suddenly, something oddly familiar is reached by her touch, and furrowing her brow, she tries to latch back on the goodness of the light around her, but she stumbles across something much darker, much nearer. 

Hesitantly, she pulled her hand away, letting the golden pulse flow through her veins, more evident than it ever had been. She blinks slowly, trying to shake the off sensation in her fingertips and in the back of her mind.

“Luke told me about this place,” she whispered, peering wistfully into the branches of the tree that glowed a gentle blue, delicate blossoms hanging down above her. “It’s beautiful.”

“It is,” Kes Dameron replies calmly. “The tree was a gift from the late King. We’ve raised it since it was a sapling.”

She takes another step back, and plays with the wedding band on her finger as she seems to pull out of the trance.

“I’d love to hear more about this place in the coming days,” she whispers, and considers the familiar presence that she had barely brushed, so far away.

“Of course, My Queen. It would be quite an honor. In the meantime, some of the villagers have prepared a feast in the dining hall. They await our arrival.”

She smiles sweetly, and Poe offers her an arm as they exit the courtyard. They approach a large building, and enter into a hallway. They pass a study, and the hall gives way into an open bedroom with a large, stained-glass window across the left wall, it’s colors glimmering onto the floor below it. 

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Kes says. Poe slips from her grip and stands beside him. “Make yourself at home, get ready. They’ll be expecting you.”

“Yes, of course, but,” she hesitates. “There is one more thing.”

Poe glances at her uncertainty, then back at his father who has his eyes fixed on her.

“I’d like to ask your permission.”

“My lady?”

“To marry your son,” she resolved, leaving an oddly satisfying taste on her tongue. 

“Poe?” He turns to his son, who tenses and takes a deep breath. 

“Father, I have worked by Rey’s side since her arrival at the castle, she’s a fine ruler, but we’ve also grown… to love one another.”

“Son, that’s—”

“We’ve got the senate’s approval,” Poe blurted. “And Leia’s.”

“Poe, if she makes you happy, then I’m happy.”

Rey smiles brightly, but Poe, in his nervous sweat, doesn’t seem to notice.

“Father, I–” he moves to protest, but she cuts him off with a raised eyebrow.

“He agreed, Poe,” she grumbles, and Kes laughs uproariously.

Poe furrows his brow, and grips his father on the shoulder, a breathless, relieved smile, pulling at the corners of his mouth. 

“We’ll tell everyone at dinner,” Kes announces, moving towards her, holding open arms for her. “Welcome to the family, Rey.”

Through her gentle joy, she wraps her arms around him forcefully, a sense of belonging washing over her, a sense of family that she’d never thought she’d ever truly have. 

-

_Rey_

_I have learned that the darkness can come from the places you least expect it. But if you can only make it through the night until morning, I know that you could remain in the light._

_I have never truly escaped the darkness. I have experienced terrible things, made terrible mistakes. I’m sure you’ll learn of them someday, whether from mine or another’s lips, or in this journal in simple ink. I hope that you can forgive me for all of my folley._

_Never mind, that, but it is important to find those that you trust. Due to your isolation, I fear that you will struggle with this, but I hope you can let people in that you know would never hurt you. But never assume the worst in people, like I did. ~~Like I did with my nephew.~~_

_Darkness may surround you, but the light is within you, always._

_Luke_

With the warmth in her stomach that dinner had left behind, she set the journal down at her bedside. She called a goodnight to her guards, and they shut the large, wooden doors to her bedchambers behind them. 

Rey sighed as she passed the desk, and again, felt overwhelmed by the Force. It sang to her, called to her. Shaking her head, she grabbed a piece of parchment, and started writing her own letter. 

_My dearest Finn,_

_No matter what your past, you must know that I have always trusted you completely. You show me light every day._

_Rey_

She finished her signature slowly, content with the shortness of the letter. Rain poured down on the roof, and she placed the parchment on top of the journal, blowing out the candle before lying back into her pillow. 

It doesn’t take long for her to follow a path into a deep, dreamless sleep.

-

The room is lit by lightning when she jolts straight upward. Dread settles in her gut, and she almost swears she can hear screams over the vicious downpour. She moves to the wardrobe, and hands shaking, reaches for a coat. 

But the entrance doors creak, and she jolts to the source of the sound. 

Her breath ragged, she is frozen by fear, power pulsing in her veins, reaching out, rippling–

A slow line of bright red light ignited alongside a tall, almost inhuman figure, illuminated by the blade. It crackled angrily, humming with the force.

The figure takes slow steps towards her, dragging the tip of the blade slowly across the stone cold floor. As he approached, she backed up slowly, until she was cornered. The figure held the blade up, and she could see the mask. The mask was familiar–

He lunged forward, and she rolled past him, running for the open door, but he threw out a hand that slammed them shut. 

Thunder cracked as lightning lit the room, and she searched for the golden feeling of the Force Tree, and as if on instinct, her hand jets out. 

The drawer of the desk flies open, and something metal enters her grip. She wills it to light, and when the figure lunged again, red blade clashed with blue. 

The tall figure staggered backward in surprise, and she threw more blows, and managed a swipe across his mask that revealed his right eye. 

Blood dropped down onto his lashes, and fearful anger filled familiar eyes as their blades collided again, pushing close to her face, back now against the wall. 

No, no it couldn’t be. She knew those eyes, or at least, she thought she did. 

As she strained to fight back, she braced herself with one hand, her palm meeting the wood of what she had thought to be the wall. She frantically searched for the latch, and when she found it she clicked it open, and jutted her hand out.

Luke’s journal flew into her hand and she pushed the door open, sheathing her blade, and catching her opponent off-guard. She rolled behind him, but she faltered as he landed a slash across her abdomen. 

Hot blood wet her skin, but in her adrenaline she managed to kick him forward, and she ran. Out of the building, and past her dead guards. She couldn’t look back, not then. She gripped her side with her free hand as she raced through the jungle, trying to push all fear out of her mind. 

But, oh Force, how the estate burned. The tree, Kes Dameron, and–

_Poe._

Her foot caught a root, she tumbles forward, banging her head on a rock. Everything goes dark, and the Force runs silent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry. This was a sort of short chapter, but it acted as a turning point.


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey finds herself in an unfamiliar place, under the roof of someone familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t planning on updating again so soon, but after a long day I wanted to share this. It’s a bit short but I guess lol.

Thunder rumbles in the distance, and Rey sat upward slowly, orienting herself. There’s a burning pain in her side, a hurtful reminder that what she had experienced was not at all a dream. Her hand found the bump just above her temple, and she startled as the door to the small, quaint room opened. 

The older man that entered, silver-haired and scruffy-looking, caught her frightened look, and took his hands out of the pockets of his fairly elegantly sewn coat, showing them to her.

“I’m not gonna hurt you, kid,” he mused taking cautious steps towards her. “You took a pretty nasty tumble last night, and with that wound, I’m surprised you made it out of whatever scuffle you were in alive.”

She took a panicked breath as she looked him up and down. 

“Where am I? I have to go back,” she cried.

“Hey, slow down,” he studied her carefully as he stopped at her bedside. “You almost bled out. You’re not going anywhere. I’m Han, I’ll get you where you need to go when you’re better.”

She considered him for a moment. His name sounded familiar.

“My name is Kira,” she settled. It was obvious he didn’t know her, so it was worth keeping it that way. “I’m from Jakku, but I have loved ones from Alderaan–”

“You expect me to believe you’re a simple girl from Jakku; I found you with a _lightsaber_ and a wound inflicted by one.”

Her eyes darted downward as she struggled for an excuse. 

“Where’d you get it?”

“I didn’t steal it!” She bit back, her hands balling into fists. “It was… given to me.”

“By a Jedi? No, the Jedi are dead.”

“Maybe,” she whispered. “When Luke Skywalker taught me the ways of the Force–”

“Hang on, Luke Skywalker?” _Shit._ “The man’s been gone for months. His last protege was…” he trailed off, looking her up and down. His clear surprise at the mention of the late King clicked his appearance to his name.

“You’re Han Solo,” she stated, leaving no room for objection or excuse. “You were his friend. His brother.”

“So what if I was? I ran away from that life, and here I am back in it, the queen wounded and alone in my home. What would Leia say?”

“She’d probably say a lot of things,” Rey muttered. “But you’re still the Prince consort. You have a responsibility.”

“To what, protect you? The First Order has overtaken these parts, it’s a wonder they haven’t discovered us yet.”

“Oh no,” she whispered, a quick realization sweeping over her. “The Knights of Ren. They’ve taken Yavin, that means–”

“The threat is more internal than we thought.”

“I have to contact my Commander, he will know what to do–”

“If he was with you in Yavin, he’s either dead or captured along with the rest of your people.”

Her thoughts stammered to a halt, her composure nearly crumbling. She knew that they likely thought her dead or missing. After all, it was a wonder that she had gotten away. 

“What happened to Kes Dameron?” He inquired, treading carefully. 

“I-I don’t know. I got out after I was attacked and…” her ability to keep herself together fell away. 

Han must have noticed her dismay, for he took a step back, and she felt tears welling in her eyes. The terrify fear of being alone again crashed over her like a tidal wave.

“I’ll give you a moment.”

“No,” she cried desperately, fighting to keep the sob down in her throat. “Please stay… I can’t be alone after–” He nodded silently, and pulled up a chair beside her. 

-

She was back on her feet after a few days of rest, and minute attempts to heal with the force that pulsed around her. 

When she visited town for the first time with Han and Chewie (a quite charming hunting dog), there were no glances spared for her. There were somber glances towards Han, but Rey figures they had never seen her face. 

Rey plays with the seam of her cloak as she waits for him outside a pub. She nervously shifted on her feet. Across the way, she could hear two men discussing the state of Alderaan. It draws her interest, and she listens in intently.

“They say Hosnian is in ruins,” one had barely mustered. “The Prince returned to Alderaan after Yavin with news of the Queen’s murder. He’s framed Poe Dameron, her Commander, for it, and plans to take the throne himself.”

“Lady Phasma of the First Order was said to arrive with him,” the other one whispered, glancing over his shoulder conspiratorially, and locking eyes with her. 

Rey lets her eyes fall downward, and adjusts her stance. She can hear them approaching, and she sucks in a breath when she finally looks up at them. 

“You remind me of someone,” the first, tall, scruffy and buff growls. “But that ain’t give a pretty lady like you the right to eavesdrop.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, struggling to find her voice. “I was simply waiting for someone, and I… find the drama of politics interesting.”

“Not from around here are you, girl?”

“That’s none of your business,” she scans them up and down, judging if they would be provoked easily. Then she remembers the fragility of her wound, knowing if she had to pick a fight, she’d sooner bleed out. 

The second scoffed.

“If it’s gonna be like _that_ ,” he grabbed her around the wrist and she struggled to pull away. Panic rose in her throat, the night of the attack racing forward in her head. The Force whirled around her offering her an opportunity to use it, but instead, she remembered her free hand and grabbed his forearm, forcefully pushing downwards with newfound strength. He cried out in pain as the snap of bone under her fingers sent a chill up her spine. 

“Hey,” came a distressed voice behind her. “What do you think you’re doing, kid?”

“Defending myself?” She kept her grip on the man’s wrist, but whirling to face Han. “They tried to grab me.”

“Let the man go, Kira,” he sighed, looking angrily at the men in front of her. “Let me deal with them,” rubbing his temples, he mutters, “ _I can’t take you_ anywhere.”

She scowls and drops it, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Go get Chewie from around the back,” he tells her, handing her a bottle.

With a resigned sigh, she nodded, and slowly skirted the building to where Chewie patiently waited for them. He wagged his tail and barked when he saw her. 

Kneeling in front of him, she rubs his scruff, shakily breathing. 

“Oh, sweet Chewbacca, what are we going to do?”

He licked her face happily. 

“We need to get back to Alderaan, but I don’t know if Han will ever give in.”

-

She flipped open her own journal that she had bought in town, a basin of ink and a quill in her hand, but Han threw the door open, and placed a piece of parchment on top of it without warning. 

“What’s this?”

“Read it.”

Furrowing her brow, she turned back to it, and read it carefully. 

_Han,_

_I don’t know if you’ll ever receive this. I don’t know if you’ll want to read it, but more than ever we need your help. I need your help._

_Queen Rey is missing, I refuse to believe she’s dead. Our son returned from Yavin with Rey’s Commander and some of his personnel in chains, accusing them of treason and her murder. Kes Dameron wasn’t with them, and we don’t know where to find him._

_There was no body, but we’ve also received many desperate letters from the outskirts of Hosnian. They detail the mass destruction and massacre that came about when First Order troops and radicals burned the city. I sincerely hope that she made it out alive, but it feels too similar to what happened with Luke._

_We have fled Alderaan, narrowly avoiding the First Order that now swarms it. Kylo Ren, as… our son now calls himself… answers to a man called Snoke, and if we don’t act soon, it’s likely that the country will fall into chaos._

_If you have received this, we have fled to the backcountry of D’Qar. Your presence among those of us that remain will surely bring about hope._

_Yours,_

_Leia_

Rey blinked slowly, taking in the words obviously written in haste, but nonetheless still heavy and well thought through. Regret settled in her chest, knowing that her running had caused all of this. This was her fault–

“Well?” He urges, breaking her self-deprecating line of thought. 

She can’t find the courage to meet his eyes.

“I want to go,” she replied slowly, deliberately, but quiet and tired. 

To her surprise, Han placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, and he wore a wry smile.

“Gather your things,” he sighed. “D’Qar is a long way from Celanon. We leave in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, I’ve just barely finished writing through chapter eleven. So that I don’t leave you guys hanging for a long amount of time, I probably won’t update again for a little while.


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn visits the dungeons. Rey, Han, and Chewie arrive at Base Delta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally meant to post this last night but I was too exhausted to remember I guess. It’s been a long week, and I hope y’all enjoy!!

Finn snuck past the patrol into the dungeons, tightly gripping a dagger in his hand. Ben had brought the First Order’s radicalism to the throne of Alderaan, the Duke of Gatalenta and the Lady Phasma at his side. 

Force, both Rey and Rose never found out what Lady Phasma had done to him under their ranks before Poe had saved him.

He quietly peers into each cell block, guilt balling up in his throat with each Knight he left behind. Poe sat with his knees drawn up to his chest, one ankle shackled with a chain that was welded to the wall. 

The fallen commander turned to face him as he heard his footsteps approach. In the dim light, his eyes wore a toxic mix of grief and defeat, which surprised Finn. He had only ever known Poe as confident and perseverant. 

“Finn,” was the only word that echoed from the dark cell. 

“Tell me it’s a lie,” he whispered back. “You loved her.”

A sob broke from Poe’s lips, the weight of the past few days washing over him. 

“She’s gone,” he sighed, a sorrowful bitterness in his tone. “Ben killed her, or rather Kylo Ren did. It was my responsibility to protect her, and I’ve failed.”

Finn hesitates, doubting what Leia had told him, doubting for a moment, the possibility that Rey was still alive.

“No,” he held his breath for a brief moment. “I refuse to believe she’s not still out there.”

“You can’t know that.”

“You can’t know that she’s dead either.”

The clang of the opening door at the end of the hall startled him. 

“Poe, listen,” he hissed. “I don’t have much time, and I can’t save you without suspicion arising.”

“Finn–”

“Rendezvous at Base Delta in the mid rim if you can get out, the others have left already but Rosie and I have to stay to protect you. If we leave, Snoke will have your head tomorrow.”

“Finn, take this,” Poe had come up to the bars in Finn’s desperation, and shoved a piece of parchment out at him. Footsteps approached, and Finn nodded, darting out of view and into a dark passageway at the end of the hall. 

Once back in what was had been Rey’s study, he stepped into the balcony, hanging his head. He pulled the piece of parchment out of his cloak, and unfolded it slowly. 

The scrawl of it was achingly familiar, the curls of every letter a painful reminder of the truth:

_My dearest Finn,_

_No matter what your past, you must know that I have always trusted you completely. You show me light every day._

_Rey_

He wondered when this had been written, and it couldn’t have been long before she was attacked. The warmth of assurance it brought to him, however, filled him to the brim. 

He looked out past the city gates, and out over the horizon, the wind whistling in his ears. 

“If you’re out there, Rey,” he whispered to no one, or whoever might hear. “Find them.”

-

They came over the ridge fast, Han ahead of her on a slick, golden-coated mare called Ghost he’d borrowed from a friend. Falcon raced below her, her silver pelt glistening in the early morning sun rays that protruded through the canopy above. Beside them, Chewie raced, and barked joyfully.

The tree line gave way to a tall, stone wall, overgrown with vines and greenery. They slid to a halt at the end of the path.

“This way,” he called, and raced off again. As the gate came into view, shouting filled her ears. Several men flooded out of the stronghold, drawing their swords to defend. Above, archers take aim from nests along the wall’s crest.

They slow once again, and Han dismounts, showing them his hands. He motions for Chewie to stay by the horses.

“I’m here to see Leia Organa,” he states calmly. “I mean no harm.”

Rey dismounted further back, and approached with steady, quiet steps as Han carried a conversation with the commanding officer. Chewie barks after her, and she shushes him.

As she approached the woman, Rey recognized her as Suralinda Javos, one of Poe’s Captains. The slim figure turned to her as she grew closer, and she pulled back her hood, revealing her face to them. 

Suralinda gasps, and immediately falls to her knees. 

“My lady,” her voice is breathless, in awe but also in relief. “You’re alive.”

Slowly the others followed suit, with several almost hesitating. She blinked slowly, and bent to her knees before Suralinda despite her wound screaming in protest. The familiar face appears to be struggling to hold back tears. 

“Sura,” Rey whispered. 

“You have no idea what they’ve done to them,” she replied, hard for even Rey to hear. “Now that you’re back, we can retake the Capital and save his life. Save all of their lives.”

“If we want to win we have to start small,” came Han’s voice behind them, and Rey rose to her feet, and embracing Sura. 

“Please,” she sighed. “I need to see Leia.”

The woman turned her eyes downward, and nodded. They followed the group of soldiers back into the D’Qar Stronghold, and a pair of stable hands led their horses to the stables. 

A crowd of refugees near the entrance to the bunker, ragged-looking with fear in their eyes, split, and several seemed to recognize her; some were murmuring prayers and others collapsed to their knees.

They descended slowly, Rey gripping the railing tightly. 

“Welcome to Base Delta, My Lady,” Suralinda called. “This is the main center of operations for your forces outside of Alderaan.”

“Commander Dameron never told me about this place,” Rey sighed, her chest tight with the sheer amount of military force that was bustling around. 

“Poe has suspected Hux for a long time, and occasionally Ben, so since you were so close to it...” she sighed. “It is a bit of bantha crap, but he just wanted to protect you. It was his job after all.”

They turned down a hallway, doors to communal barracks opening on either side, and a large door at the end of the hall. A short girl, with blonde buns turned to look up at them. 

“Lieutenant Connix,” Suralinda addressed her. 

“Captain Javos,” Connix straightened a little bit, her eyes flicking to them. “How can I help you?”

“I need you to show them in. They’re here to see Leia.”

“I’m not sure that I can–”

“Kaydel, Rey needs to see her.”

Connix froze, and looked Rey up and down: her scruffy clothing, the way she scrunched over and held her arm around her wounded side, and her free, wild curls.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

Sura placed a hand on her shoulder hesitantly. 

“Um,” Connix finally spoke up. “Follow me, but I should warn you both. General Organa is not well.”

“General?” Han whispered to her, and she shrugged. 

The door creaked open, and she called to Leia. 

“There’s some people here to see you.”

“If it’s another refugee, I’m not sure I could–” 

The stern, familiar voice is silenced when Han pushed into the room, but Rey, clutching the ring she now hung around her neck, hesitated. 

A sense of affirmation growing in her chest, she pulled the door open, and Han and Leia’s hushed tones silenced. Connix smiled gently. 

“I’ll leave you alone, Majesties.”

Leia held her gaze as she took slow steps towards them. Connix was right, she looked pale, ill, and her long, silver hair was spread out on the pillow, almost like a halo. Han rose, and help Rey into a chair by Leia’s bedside. 

Rey grimaced as pain in her side blossomed, and Leia’s eyes widened with worry, reaching a hand out. The calloused grip that covered her hands sent a warm comfort through her. 

“I found her on the edge of Yavin, unconscious, bleeding out,” Han said. “As good as dead, but she pulled through. I’m sure as hell glad she did.”

“What happened?” Leia asked her, directly this time, a motherly affection in her eyes. 

“They came in the night, after the first dinner,” Rey’s voice cracked, her lips parting slowly. “I fought back but, I’m sure it was Ben. I barely got out, but Leia, I’m sorry–”

“It was Kylo Ren’s choice, darling, it’s not your fault,” she wiped her tears away. 

“But Poe–”

“Finn stayed behind to protect him,” Leia replied. “But we won’t have much time.”

“You need to heal, Leia,” Han interrupted. “And so does Rey.”

“I’m fine,” Rey muttered. 

“Take her to see Kalonia,” Leia grumbled in response. “Get her properly patched up.”

“Of course, your worshipfulness,” Han mused, and begrudgingly, Rey pushed herself out of the chair, wiping her nose one more time.

-

The darkness filled her dreams, it plagued her nightmares, and pain flooded every single waking moment. Rey couldn’t go on like this, not forever. 

The wound had finally healed over, with little danger of it reopening, but her bones still ached. Turning the saber over in her hands, she peered out over the walls of the stronghold, the wind blowing her curls gently. 

She glanced over her shoulder at the guard that accompanied her who, she admitted, the first few times, she had expected to see as Poe. His name was Kaz, she believed, but he couldn’t seem to find the nerve to speak to her. 

The cold metal in her hands felt peculiar and almost supernatural, and it was the crystal in its innermost chamber that gave it its power. She ignited the blue blade, and swung it a couple of times, but startled as the world seem to fall silent, and she turned to an unwelcome presence:

The tall, dark figure from the room in Yavin. Ben Solo, or rather Kylo Ren.

The blade clattered to the floor, and she gripped the wall for stability, but he was gone as quick as he had appeared. Her breath was unsteady and her heart raced as she searched for any sign of him.

“My Lady?” Came Kaz’s unfamiliar voice from a few feet away. 

“I’m fine, Lieutenant, thank you,” she caught her breath, and bent to retrieve the blade, a foreboding sense of dread taking root in the deepest wells of her gut.

-

“Get up,” Captain Pava hissed. “You may have the Force on your side, but if your opponent can anticipate your every move then you’re dead.”

Rey huffed, brushing her hair out of her eyes, and rose to her feet from the grass once again. They’d been at it for hours. Jess turned the wooden sword over in her hand, and Rey took up her own blade, tightening her grip determinedly.

Captain Wexley and Captain Kun watched from further away, Kaz sitting on a stump, peering at them intently.

They circled each other, and she tried hard to remember the forms that Luke had taught her, but she realized that they had mixed with the savage skills she had taught herself as defense when she was a scavenger. 

“If you want to fight Kylo Ren, you can’t let your guard down,” she taunted, and as if the name brought out an instinct, she took the blade in both hands, and closed her eyes, listening to her own heartbeat as the Force rippled around her. 

She felt Jess coming, and blocked her blow easily, ducking under it and whipping around to strike her, but it was countered easily.

Rey pushes her blade closer to her opponent’s face, setting her feet apart for a stronger center. Jess looked fierce, but struggles to fight back. Rey slides her blade down, throwing her opponent off guard, and swipes out her legs. 

Jess lands on her back in the grass, the wind appearing to be knocked out of her. 

Rey is impressed with herself, for a moment only, and helps Jess back to her feet, offering an apology. 

“No need, My Queen. I was only doing my job.”

“Please, call me Rey.”

Jess smiles and looks back over her shoulder at Snap and Karé who smile smugly at her, and Rey laughs breathily. 

It’s the first time she’s smiled in weeks.

-

_Ben,_

_You’ve made a terrible mistake. You will pay._

Rey crumpled up the paper, and chucked it as far as she could across the courtyard. She slumped back against the tree she sat under, shutting her journal hard. 

No matter how many of Luke’s letters she read, she couldn’t ease the anger that boiled in her chest. Ben had taken away her country and her best friends, and here she was, sitting idly by, watched like a hawk. 

“Who’s Ben?” 

Rey jolted from her thoughts, and saw Kaz, one of her several frustrated letters in hand. Speak of the devil.

“Since when are you one to ask questions?”

Kaz grumbled something inaudible under his breath. 

“Since I realized you might need a friend.”

She stared at him, trying to find the lie in his face, but that was the thing; she couldn’t. 

“I was on assignment in Castilion before I came here, back when Luke was still king. It’s on this humongous island a few miles off the coast, and could only ever get to it by boat.”

“I’ve never seen the ocean before,” Rey whispered. 

“It’s sorta like you, I guess. It seems calm on the surface, but it has depths full of secrets, both good and bad.”

She looked down, wanting to hide from his gaze.

“I know you want to fight,” he resolved. “I did, too, but I realized that you don’t always get what you want. But when you do, it’s in the ways you least expect.

“You know who taught me that?”

“Who?” She finally looks up, and he tries to smile, but it’s a sad thing, full of pain.

“Poe did.”

He comes closer, and hands her back a letter.

_Ben,_

_I don’t know what’s going through your mind. But what did I do to you to deserve this? I have never been anything but kind to you, a man who makes me bristle._

_Whatever Snoke says about you is wrong, but if you hurt Poe any more than you have, heed my warning:_

_You will pay._

_Kira of Jakku_

“Thank you, Kazuda,” she sighs, and he helps her to her feet. “I need you to get this letter to the Capital.”

“What?”

“This is for the man that tried to kill me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I might include Kaz bc reasons but I really haven’t watched much of Resistance (which is actually pretty good, though occasionally childish). I hope that the story is starting to feel a little more cohesive because in all honesty I often feel it’s a little bit messy and predictable. But anyways, hope you enjoyed it??


	8. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey rallies her troops. The Resistance retakes Sullust.

“Oh gods, Poe,” he groaned as the woman, whoever she was– her voice was familiar– lifted him into her lap. “Oh gods.”

His left eye was swollen shut, but he could see well enough out of his right. They were in a dimly lit room— it certainly wasn’t his cell, judging by the high ceilings— and as his eyes focused in on her, it was clear that the woman who gripped his aching shoulders was Rose Tico, the younger sister of one of Poe’s closest friends, Paige. 

They weren’t alone, however. Her eyes kept flashing to another figure above them, but he found it almost impossible to move beyond the slightest twitch of his fingers or the parting of his cracked, bloody, and dry lips. 

“You will help him,” a commanding, familiar voice ordered her. 

“I can heal his wounds, but I can never help what you have done to destroy his mind,” she growled fiercely in defiance. Her smooth hands brushed over his cheek, and she looked into his eyes, her lash-line glistening with fearful tears. 

A door swings open, and a new voice joins to accompany the dark, brooding tone. 

“A letter for you, Your Majesty.” Oh. He was once again at the mercy of his mentor’s son, his childhood best friend. “And General Hux awaits you in your chambers. He brings word from Mustafar.”

“Give me the letter,” Ben Solo hissed, and the crumple of paper follows his voice diligently. There’s an angry pause as he surveys it, all that fills it is Rose’s attempts to slow her breathing and hold in her tears. 

“Lock the door, don’t let them out until I say,” Ben saunters out of the room, footsteps echoed into the long hallways and a door slamming behind him, the distinct click! of a lock a few seconds behind him.

He could feel Rose trembling beneath him.

“Rose,” he finally managed, and she tore her gaze away from the door, her free hand brushing a curl out of his eyes. 

“I’m going to help you,” she croaked, looking over her shoulder. “I know you would never hurt Rey.”

She grunted as she tried to lift him, managing to lean the majority of his weight over the side of her petite form. He tried to get his footing, but his knees wouldn’t let him stand, intense pain shooting up from his ankles. 

“I’ll never ride again,” he groaned, meaning for it to stay in his head, but instead letting it roll from the tongue.

Rose chuckled, lightly, but halfhearted. They barely make it to the bedside when he completely collapses onto the covers, a slight relief on the strain of his muscles, but the dull pain starts to become more evident the longer he lies there. 

She tries to create conversation, but his words catch in his throat every time, his mind still in shambles from the last time he’d been left alone with Kylo Ren. Noticing this, she takes to tending his wounds, an eerie familiarity to one of his final encounters with her sister.

When night falls, and the room is dark, and Poe is almost relieved to no longer be held in a cell. Rose pulls the cover over him gently, and sits at his bedside. Her stomach growls. 

“Thank you, Rose,” he whispers. 

“Of course.” 

He turns his head, gazing out the balcony door into the start sky, the city glowing dim below. They’re in a high tower. 

“Do you think they’re still out there?” He mused, the glimmer of the stars reminding him of how Rey’s sweet smiles lit up the freckles on her cheek in an entirely blinding way. In his mind, he can almost feel her, distant and weary. 

His father’s joyous laugh rings in his mind, and he smiles to himself.

“I sure hope so,” she sighed, pulling the pillow that she held in her lap closer to her chest. 

“We’ll find them.”

He fixes his gaze on the horizon, a spark of hope warming his chest. 

-

“Tomorrow we march on Sullust,” Leia projected her voice to the crowd gathered in the courtyard. Rey shifted on her feet behind her. “The First Order has begun exploiting the resources that the mines provide and overflowing their forges. Our goal is to take back that resource and show them that we will continue to fight.”

Rey smiles slightly when the crowd agrees with enthusiastic whoops and whistles. The officers that stand around her turn towards her expectantly, and Leia gives her a gentle nod, and steps back. Her strong appearance starts to falter as she takes a seat among the other commanding officers.

Clearing her throat, she takes deliberate steps forward, planting her feet in first position as all eyes find her. She swallows slowly. 

“Commander Dameron once told me that a Queen will always turn pain into power,” she surveys the crowd, her eyes meeting Kaz’s who stands near the back of the crowd. He nods. “The First Order has caused me pain, just as much as it has brought to you. That pain grabbed us by the throat and it threw us all here. Together.

“I think anyone can turn pain into power if they believe they can,” She paused. “That is why it is our time. Even as we mourn the downfall of our capital, and of our friends in Hosnian, we must take every opportunity that we are given. Tomorrow is our first chance to take back our strength.

“Tomorrow, I ride alongside not just my people, but my friends; the people who taught me that I should fight for what is right. Tomorrow we turn our pain into power.”

The crowd applauds wildly, and taking the lightsaber from the clip on her belt, she turns it over in her hand once, then twice. 

Igniting it, she holds it above her head. The cheers in the mass before her rise to louder than before. 

Rey smiles over her shoulder at Leia, who smiles half-heartedly, and Han claps slowly in his place beside Leia.

Her heart races, and as she tightens her grip around the lightsaber, the world seems to fall dark around her. 

Whirling around, she comes face to face with a woman, with striking red hair, and a sweet smiling face, but the image melts away into a battle, and Rey sees herself rising onto a platform to face a group of men gathered before the palace doors. 

The wooden stage crumbled as she fell, fell to nowhere. Her knees hit the stone floor hard, and she struggled to catch her breath as she attempted to orient herself, and she stands slowly, the room in the highest tower becoming clearer. 

Turning, she sees a familiar man leaning over the railing of the balcony. 

“Poe?” She tries, but he doesn’t turn, so she approached further, and a haunted look falls over his face. 

Stumbling back, she lands hard on the forest floor, hands flat in the snow. A stag takes slow steps towards her, and it spreads brilliant silver wings, reflecting a light that blinds her. When the light clears, it’s gone. 

Confused to where the vision has taken her, she wanders for a moment, but Kylo Ren bursts from behind a tree, blade crackling, and she falls on her back.

One of the officers braced her shoulders, and she struggled to catch her breath, her own blade discarded to the side. 

Leia consoles the crowd, her voice blurred by Rey’s racing thoughts. 

She blinks rapidly, and Han grabs her wrist, lifting her to her feet, and helping her into the base. She stumbles, and glances at the disoriented crowd. 

Bracing herself on the round command table, she lets her fear fizzle away, but the adrenaline remains. 

“What happened?” Han grumbled. 

“I don’t know,” she muttered.

“Rey—”

“I don’t know, okay?” She tried, careful not to let her emotions ripple to the surface, and held in the power like she had been taught. 

Han groans and bites down a comment. 

“I saw death in the Capital, a fight impossible to win, and then it was… quiet.”

He stared at her, looking for further explanation.

“There was a stag… and blinding, silver light.” 

“I can’t tell you anything about what you saw, but…” he considered her for a moment. “You need to get your head in the right place. We can’t risk you making a brash decision tomorrow.”

Nodding slowly, she grabs at the ring that hangs around her neck. He leaves her to the silence of the command center. The silence pounds in her ears, deafening, suffocating.

-

They rode to the top of the ridge, the dark, rocky terrain obscuring them from the base below. It seems like yesterday that she was in Sullust with the court, trying to raise the spirits of its people. Little did they know that the threat had its hands around their throat the whole time.

Rey pulled the scarf down from her face, and turned to Leia, her breath in the cold air visible and crisp. 

“The base is heavily fortified, we’ll only be able to put up a fight if we take out their guard towers,” Rey follows Leia’s gaze to the two towers on either side of the base. 

“I’ll take a strike team in, and we’ll take them out one at a time.”

“Are you sure your ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Leia nodded. 

Rey dismounts, and hangs her cloak over the horse’s back. One of the others take it by the reigns. 

“Black Squad, on me” she calls, and Karé, Jess, Snap, and Suralinda dismount and join her. Kaz is not far behind. 

Determined, she lifts the scarf back over her face and they descend into the Sullustian valley, treading quietly among the enemy.

-

Poe gritted his teeth, the aftermath of the blow stinging on his cheekbone. 

“You know where your petty Resistance hides!” Hux hissed. “You will tell us where!”

“Never,” he barely manages, a taste of iron lingering under his tongue. 

“Your Queen is dead! Why do you still fight?”

Poe chuckles lowly, earning another blow. Through the pain, he glowers up at him.

“Are you so ignorant to think that this fight was only ever about her?”

Hux kneels to his level, and grabs Poe’s chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. 

“Did you not love her?”

Poe struggles to keep his composure, the images of her body, dead and bloodied, put into his head by Kylo Ren stirring ominously.

“Tell me then, Commander. What is your cause?”

-

Once the battle began, they held an upper hand. 

Rey held the now broken bow in her left hand, gripping it as far away as possible from its splintered upper limb. She hesitates to draw her blade, knowing the consequences of its recognizability. 

A dark figure emerged ahead, wielding a crimson blade, but their appearance differs from her previous attacker. Dropping the bow to the ground, she wraps her fingers around the cold metal of the lightsaber. 

She ignited it, and took strides towards them, fighting off every First Order soldier that tries to resist her. 

Once the figure stands alone, deflecting the final Resistance fighter in his immediate vicinity, she swings the saber, it’s metallic hum echoing loudly in the courtyard. 

The figure takes a deep breath, and turns slowly, rising to their full height, sizing her up. Her face is still obscured by the scarf, but she senses their triumphant resolve.

When the figure charges, she hears a distant ‘ _Rey, No!_ ’ but the blades collide before she could flinch to find its source. 

-

“General,” a new voice entered the room. Poe smirked defiantly at Hux, who scowled in return. 

“What is so urgent, Lieutenant, that you defy a direct order to not disturb me?”

“News from Sullust, sir,” the Lieutenant replied flatly. Poe turned his gaze to them, his chest tightening in remembrance of the contingency plan he had formulated only days before they had left on the tour. “Rebels have laid siege to our fortress.”

The dark leather of Hux’s gloves tightens into fists. 

“What of Amaro Ren?”

“No word. The messenger brought word of battle but not of victory nor defeat.”

“Very well,” Hux’s voice is expertly trained, a hint of enraged venom lingering. He turns back to Poe, who finds himself almost paralyzed under the red-haired man’s gaze.

“There’s more, sir.”

Hux freezes. 

“The charge was led by a woman bearing the blade of Skywalker.”

Poe straightens, a low laugh rattling in his chest, all fear washed away. 

“Bring the news to Kylo Ren,” Hux remarked. He whirled back to Poe. “We aren’t done yet,” he hissed, and they swept out of the room.

-

The figure swiped at her throat, but she narrowly dodged, stumbling back, and swinging the blade upwards again to defend against their next blow. 

Gritting her teeth, she pushes back against their strength, sending them staggering backwards.

They swipe at her blindly, but she evades it effortlessly. Rey finds an anger in her chest and swipes back, slashing the mask down the middle. 

The lower half of the mask simmers and melts from the heat of the blade, and falls to the ground. Their blade clatters to the ground by Rey’s foot. Exhausted, the figure collapsed to their knees, pulling the burning mask off of their face. 

They turn to Rey with terrifyingly golden eyes, and for the first time she sees the woman’s face, broken and twisted by fear.

Rey bends to pick up the hilt of the saber, and levels her own at the woman. 

“Yield,” She demands, but the woman glares at her enviously.

“Never,” she bites back with an obscure accent.

The woman draws a dagger, and in one swift motion, stabs herself through the heart. Rey drops the blades, and catches her form before she can hit the ground.

Blood pours from the corner of her lips, and Rey struggles to find any reason in her actions. She hissed, and through scarlet, bloodied teeth, five simple words:

“ _Long live Supreme Leader Snoke._ ”

Her eyes went blank, but as her weight grew heavier, her gaze still burned into Rey’s own.

-

They had set up camp just over the ridge for the night, in case any First Order troops decided to arrive late. 

She sat in the snow, her back against the tree, and in the fire light, Rey opened Luke’s journal for one of the first times since her arrival at D’Qar.

_Rey,_

_I’m glad that you had never seen combat when I had first met you. Sure, you could put up a fight, you’re strong willed and cunning, but it’s not warfare._

_The innocence in your eyes is refreshing, especially after all the years I spent among those I fought alongside, whose gazes still haunt me. Of all the problems I caused and all of the terror that we faced._

_I sense and I fear that that innocence will bleed out without a trace, and that all that I fought for in my time with the Rebel Alliance–_

The ink is slightly blotted from where the pages had gotten wet. 

_–will be lost, and you, too, will have to face an impenetrable darkness that will ultimately destroy you. Like it did with me._

Oh.

_I apologize. That was rather…brooding of me._

_Luke._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so it looks like Tuesday may end up being my new regular update day. I’ve hit a wall of writer’s block in chapter... twelve. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and maybe even caught the itty bitty hints at where this story may end up.


	9. IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe writes a letter, the Resistance departs Sullust, and an unexpected visitor arrives at D’Qar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday! Have a short-ish chapter today.

_Rey_

_If you’re reading this, then it is my hope that you are well, and that you are safe. Safe above everything else. It was my job to protect you, and the one night that I let my guard down, those closest to us turned against us._

_Though it breaks my heart that we are separated, your staying away has kept me alive, and I hope that I can escape from Hux’s clutches to you and the Resistance when the time is right._

_The talk among the officers that guard my door is that the Resistance has made ground in Sullust, and that you were there, fighting for the cause like I’d dreamed you’d choose to do one day. I hope Base Delta is to your liking, and that you find people who you can trust._

_As I helped Leia organize the Resistance before you came, I created something much stronger than you know. There was so much I didn’t tell you… and that much I regret because I never foresaw our downfall so soon. The Resistance was a contingency, and you should have known more about it. For that I am sorry._

_Phasma has trapped Finn in command, and Rose is stuck in the same place I am, a high tower, and I don’t know how she deals with me. Me, who comes back with some new injuries every day. At least she is still loyal to our cause, unlike so many of the others, others who are offered power and military positions in exchange for their souls (figuratively speaking). I hope soon, they can get away like you did, so that they don’t have to protect me._

_I remember hearing of your death, and for a time I had no will to fight their blame and their torture. The knowledge that you are alive encourages me every single moment of a day, and I will fight for you and for this country until the First Order is driven out and dead._

_I’ve overheard talk of Snoke’s journey here, and I know that once he arrives, my time comes to the end. There’s a ticking clock and a target on my head, my love, and I hope that if that time comes soon, I may use my final breath to tell you that I love you._

_Yours, Always,  
Poe _

Holding the letter in his right hand, he leans over in the chair on the balcony. He didn’t know how he was going to send the letter, and wonders why he even wrote it at all.

The sky is clear when he looks up, save for a falcon soaring high up above, circling the tower. He strains his eyes to admire the wings, and recognizes it, rising to his feet, the healing muscles in his ankles screaming in protest. 

“What’s that?” Rose calls from behind him, stepping into the afternoon sun.

“An old friend.” Poe raises his fingers to his mouth and lets out a short whistle. In a moment, the bird is descending towards them, a smooth wingbeat leveling the bird to land just before the railing. 

“Oh he’s beautiful,” Rose tries to pet the bird, but he nips at her finger. 

“Bee is a little picky,” he rubs a knuckle across the bird’s beak, reminiscing on the last time he’d seen him.

_Rey smiles fondly at the bird, who rests on her arm, fluffing his feathers in the winter cold. The snow is beautiful in her hair, and she shoots him a look._

_“What?”_

_“It’s nothing, My Lady.”_

Kylo Ren had torn that one out of his head merely yesterday, there’s a dull ache in his skull, and he realizes Rose had said something.

“Poe?”

“Oh, uh,” he looks at her sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I missed that.”

“I understand,” she sighs. “I wanted to know if you figured out a way to send the letter yet.”

“I haven’t, but maybe Bee being here now is a sign.”

“What if you sent it with him? He’s a smart boy,” Bee coos in response.

Bee had seen travel to D’Qar before. Poe smiled, and moved back into the room.

“Careful, Dameron, you’re still healing!” She called, and he waved her off over his shoulder. 

He opened the chest at the foot of the bed and dug through the scrolls, finally pulling one out. 

He rolled it out, and scanned the map swiftly. He’d hidden this up here months ago, waiting for the right moment to show Rey. 

He grabbed the quill and dipped it in the ink, scratching a circle around the location he wanted her to see and scribbled one last note. 

_GO ALONE._

He rolled it up, storing the letter with it and grabbed a string to tie it. 

When he returns to the balcony, Rose smiles gently, and he moves to tie the papers around Bee’s leg.

“Sorry, buddy, no treats this time,” he rubs the bird under the head again. “I need you to take this to D’Qar. Find them and don’t let anyone else open those documents.”

Bee crowed quietly, and spread his magnificent wings.

The door flew open suddenly, and Kylo Ren pushed Rose to the ground, and raised his hand, and invisible grip coming around Poe’s throat. 

“What have you done?” He scowled. 

“Like hell I’d tell you.”

-

They left several troops behind to hold the base at Sullust, and Rey rode back to D’Qar alongside those in higher command. Kaz was silent beside her, and she adjusted her position on the silver horse she mounted to better face him. 

“Is everything alright, Lieutenant?” She asked him, and he startled at the sound of her voice. 

“Yes, My Lady,” he replied, his tone betraying him. “Of course, My Lady.”

She studied him up and down. 

“If I may,” Kaz nodded. “Was that your first battle?”

“No ma’am,” he replied. “But it was the first time I’d ever killed a man.”

She swallows, and faces forward yet again, a heavy pain sitting in her stomach. 

“I killed three yesterday,” she resolved, trying to decide if that was too low an estimation.. “It’s a blood I’ll never get off of my hands, but remember what you're fighting for, Kaz. The cost is high, and you never get used to it, but at the end of the day it is who we protect that matters.”

She could feel his steady gaze on her. 

“I was a scavenger in Jakku before I came to the palace,” she began. “I was climbing with a friend, my only friend, and the rocks broke under his grip, and he fell one hundred feet to the sandy floor.”

“My lady–”

“I still remember the taste of the grit in my mouth and the eerie silence. I never went back to that ruin, it was too painful.”

He fell silent, and she wiped away tears that had begun to fall before she could even muster resistance to them.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Her eyes glassy, Rey peered at him over her shoulder, and regarded him for a moment.

“Call me Rey,” she replied, her voice cracking, and she urged the horse forward, creating a distance between them. 

The crowd that awaited them in D’Qar was wild with excitement, and warmth spreads through her chest at the sight of all of the new faces as they ride into the courtyard, only dismounting once they reached the stables. 

She sets her bag down once she reached her quarters, slumping onto her bed, muscles aching, and the image of the bleeding First Order Knight singed into her memory.

Lying down, not caring to discard her dirtied garments, she falls into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

-

“My Lady,” a voice called, and she turned to the young woman who was approaching them in the command center. She salutes, and Rey returns it.

“As you were–”

“Captain Adora, ma’am,” Rey smiles gently at her and nods. She holds up a roll of letters with her name on it. “Letters for you. They came by bird.”

Furrowing her brow, she quickly unrolls it, and scans for a name. Stopping to run her finger over the signature, she sighs, heart racing.

“Thank you, Captain, dismissed.” 

A breathless smile on her face, she turns back to the round table at the center of the room, pulling a hand over her mouth, and scanning the letter, she admires the familiar handwriting, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. She can feel the gazes of those around her staring, but when she turns the final page, she doesn’t care. 

The larger page behind the letter catches her eye, and after she finishes reading, relief flooding through her, she studies the map.

Looking up from it, her brow furrowed, she searches for someone in the crowd. Sweeping into the room with a crowd of advisors and members of command, Leia looks relieved to see her. 

“Rey, we need to talk,” she sighed, and Rey straightened and held the letter and map to her chest, her thoughts suddenly halting.

“Is everything alright?”

“What’s that?” Leia gestures to the letter, but Rey can’t even think about it. 

“It’s nothing, we can talk about it another time.” She lowers her hands to a more refined position. 

“Someone found us. She’s asking for you.”

Furrowing her brow, Rey tucked the letter into her coat, and followed Leia up the stairs to the common area. It’s not crowded like the command center was, and Rey can clearly see the set of guards with an older woman sitting on the bench.

When she sees them approaching, she rises, and pulls off her hood, revealing striking, red locks. Rey stops dead, and looks at Leia who wears and uneasy smile.

It was the woman from her vision. 

Thinking of the letter, she steels herself, and holds herself tall. They continue across the courtyard, and the woman almost looks as if she’s in shock. 

They stop in front of her, and the woman starts to approach Rey with hands outstretched, but restrains herself, a small gasp escaping her lips as she remembers Rey’s position.

“My Kira,” she whispers, a hand over her mouth. “My Rey.”

“I’m sorry, but,” Rey glances at Leia, a wave of emotions swelling in her chest. “Who are you?”

The woman looks like she’d been slapped in the face. She brushed her hair out of her face nervously. 

“Mara. Mara Jade.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it was hinted enough that this would come eventually. I wish I had thought to better incorporate BB-8 when I first started but I like this and in the future it will be helpful I hope.


	10. X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe meets his sentence. Rey must face her murky past, and takes a personal mission. Snoke arrives in Alderaan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a lot longer than I remembered it being, and there’s probably inclusions of characters that are unnecessary.

Finn tries his hardest not to flinch when they drop Rose to her knees beside Poe. 

He stands beside the throne. Kylo Ren is perched in it, a seat that should belong to Rey. 

Biting his tongue, he tells himself he’s protecting them, and he meets Poe’s gaze after he recovers his center, spitting blood out onto the scarlet carpet beneath him. It doesn’t hold for long once Kylo Ren rises.

“We’ve let you live long enough Dameron,” he mused through the mask, and Finn tenses under his armor. “It’s time we send the Resistance a message.”

“No!” Rose cried out, struggling against her restraints, and the stormtrooper that held her back. 

“Silence!” The whole room falls silent, and holds it breath. “Upon the Supreme Leader’s arrival in two days, we shall have your head.”

Panic bubbles up in his chest, and he desperately tries to formulate a plan to get them out. 

For the first time, Poe looks terrified, eyes wide and fearful, heartbroken almost, and Finn wonders what was going through his mind at that moment.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself, Commander Dameron?” Kylo continued, and Poe flinched at the harsh tone of his words. Finn can see him trying to blink back tears.

“What happened to Ben Solo?” Poe cried, in a quiet tone that sounded broken. “What happened to my brother?”

Kylo Ren descended the staircase towards them, and he watched Rose try to back away. Placing his hands beneath his mask, Kylo Ren lifts it and holds it with both hands, brown eyes peering into Poe’s below him. 

“Ben Solo is dead,” he sneered. 

“That’s not what she would say–” Kylo hits Poe across the face, but he relents coming straight back to his original position. “She could see the light in you when even you yourself couldn’t. No matter how many times you accuse me, I know that you can’t shake the guilt of what you did. I didn’t kill her, you did.”

Poe’s playing with Kylo, and Finn knows full well that he knows Rey is alive. Murmurs fill the room from every soldier, especially the ones that used to serve her. 

“She’s not dead,” Kylo hissed, barely audible. Finn knows that Poe has gotten what he wanted, but still he further pokes the beast.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you,” Poe growls back valiantly. 

“The Queen is alive!” 

-

“You knew who my mother was, and you never told me?” Rey shouted once they were alone, and Leia looked almost wounded at her tone. 

“As far as I knew, she was dead. I merely had my suspicions.”

Rey thought of Luke’s journal entries, painting a distinct image of the woman she met for the first time she met today. She was fifteen when she met Luke for the first time, and barely sixteen when he departed. 

“I suppose you know who my father is then?” She accuses, and Rey can feel a strong affirmation of the truth wedge itself into her chest.

“You are Coruscanti, my dear, the daughter of a duchess. It’s anyone’s guess.”

Biting her tongue, Rey turns away, tempted to shout and scream at the woman behind her, but the Force calmed her.

“Whatever it is your thinking, Rey, you might as well spit it out.”

Force be damned. 

“I may be the daughter of a duchess, but I’m still and illegitimate bastard!” She hissed, and Leia’s eyes widen. “If you knew nothing of Luke’s relationship with Mara, then you are terribly blind, Princess.”

“I–”

“Ask her yourself, I’ve read his letters. It makes sense to me. Maybe I became the heir apparent because Luke knew and kept it secret.”

There are tears streaming down her face, and in that moment, she feels terribly alone. She takes off the tiara she wore, and placed it on the table behind her. Wiping away her tears, she pushed past Leia and quickly went to her rooms. 

Digging for a rucksack, she gathers her things, and her grip find’s Luke’s, her father’s, journal. She drops it in without a second thought. 

Finally, she comes to Poe’s letter, and reads the final paragraph once again:

_I’ve overheard talk of Snoke’s journey here, and I know that once he arrives, my time comes to the end. There’s a ticking clock and a target on my head, my love, and I hope that if that time comes soon, I may use my final breath to tell you that I love you._

Folding it gently, she places the map open on the bed. She wipes her eyes again, frustration and longing stinging them.

The words ‘GO ALONE’ stand out, and she realizes she recognizes the map. It was in Luke’s study the only time she had ever visited it, still looking fresh and well lived.

Someone opens the door, and Rey instinctively drops the paper and blocks the bag with her body. 

“I thought I might find you here,” Mara Jade calls. She appears to have cleaned herself up. Her pale face looks fresh, and Rey fights an urge to yell again. She had thought if this moment would ever come, that she would’ve been happy. Of course, she should’ve, but the fact that it was hidden from her for so long stirs a great deal of mixed feelings. 

“What do you need?” Rey hesitates, knowing the consequences of certain choice phrases she could use. “I came here with the intention of being left alone.”

Mara looks like she’d been stung, but Rey didn’t feel like she had chosen wrong. It was a perfect illustration of what had become of her childhood in Jakku.

“I thought–”

“You thought I’d be welcoming?” Rey bites, tips of her ears burning hot. 

“I did.”

“Well, you were sorely mistaken,” she turns back to the bag she was filling and stares at the map, resolving what she was about to do. 

“I don’t understand.” Mara came closer. 

“You _left_ me!” Rey whipped around, angry tears threatening to boil over. She had tried to make her disinterest clear, but obviously, the message hadn’t stuck. Past turmoils return to the surface, and it feels like her choice to leave Jakku behind for a better life has been rudely disregarded, both by fate and the Force. “You left me and you never came back!”

“I wanted to keep you safe!” She bit back. 

“Oh, Bantha shit! You sold me into slavery, you left me for dead to wait fifteen years for Luke to find me!”

She struggled to find her words, and Rey huffed, slinging her bag over her shoulder. 

“If you cared enough, you’d leave me alone,” Rey stated finally. Mara blinks quick, a glint if shock between her lashes.

“But you’re my daughter.”

“I am also your queen, and I have responsibilities to myself as well as to my people and those I care about.”

Shaking her head, Rey gives Mara Jade one last humbling stare of frustration and heartache. She searches her face for any sign of an apology, but finds none, and pushed past her, out of the room, and up the stairs. Pulling on a cloak, she steps out into the next hallway.

Finding the stables empty, she approaches Falcon in the final stall. She runs a hand across her muzzle, and the beast huffs with affection. 

“It’s gonna be a long ride, old girl,” she sighs, dropping her bag by the entrance, and moving to grab a saddle and reigns.

“Where you going, kid?”

Rey whips around to see Han leaning on the entrance, a worried look in his eyes. 

“I’m going out for a ride,” she stated simply, hefting the saddle over Falcon’s back.

“With a packed bag?” he’s approaching her now, and she shies away from him, almost afraid that he’d discover her vulnerability. Bending over to her bag, he pulls out the letters, and smiles. “You found yourself a good one. I’m sorry they had to leave him behind. You can’t go back there now.”

She shakes her head, a different heartache joining the other. She was being brash enough now, and doing what Han suggested she was about to would be a whole other world of reckless. 

“No, he uh, he sent me a map,” she pulls it out from her waistband, handing it to him. “It’s from Luke’s study.”

“Ach-To, huh?”

“I think it’s a Jedi temple. Poe found this map for a reason. Maybe there I could find some guidance. Guidance that I think I might need right about now.”

“I’m not gonna stop you,” He says. 

“No? I didn’t think you’d like the idea of my going alone. Especially to a place that’s hardly ever charted.”

“You can take care of yourself, and after all you’ve been through, you deserve some peace and quiet.”

“Thank you, Han,” she smiles, and he places a hand on her shoulder. 

“I hear you’ve got that Skywalker blood, after all.”

“So it seems,” she sighs, and he laughs gently. 

“I’m glad to call you one of us, kid.”

Warmth spreads through her chest, and she wraps her arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a fierce embrace. 

Maybe Rey despised the choices the Mara made for her, but she’d be forever grateful for the people that surrounded her because of them. 

Han escorted her out to the gates, and said goodbye quietly. The gatekeepers eye them both warily, but open them for her nonetheless. The cool breeze blows through her hair as they approach the ridge, and she stops to turn to look at the fortress a final time. She tried to convince herself that leaving would protect them, but couldn’t find a reasonable enough explanation. 

“May the Force be with them,” she murmured under her breath, a resolve that the Force was guiding her settling in her gut.

-

They reach a coastline village before sundown, and trot up to an inn at the edge of it. Leading Falcon into the stables, she yawns, covering it with the back of her free hand. Stepping back outside, she sighs, noting the light drizzle as she pulls her hood up.

The inn is quaint, bustling with sailors seeking refuge from the storm or stopping in the port for the night. Her room is warm, and she sets her bag on the chair beside the bed. 

Sliding her boots off, she sits on her bed, and undressed into her sleepwear. Quietly, she sinks into the bed, feet aching, and pulls the covers up over her head. 

The room is flooded with light, and thunder cracks loudly. She finds it easy to be shrinking into herself from fear of the storm.

“It’s okay,” he whispers tenderly into her ear, rubbing a gentle hand across the middle of her back. He kissed her forehead, and in the dark, she shakes in fear. “You’re safe.”

Curling into his embrace, she finds it easier to sleep, Poe’s familiar presence filling the Force inside of her with warmth.  
Thunder rumbles, and she tightened against him, pulling the covers closer to her.

The heavy downpour eventually slows to a drizzle, and she falls asleep in his arms.

When she wakes, the storm has passed. The room is quiet, and guilt twists in her gut as she reorients herself. 

She descend into the Inn Tavern, and sits at one of the tables. It’s the first time she sat alone since she’d left Jakku. 

“What can I get for you, lovely?” The red-haired waitress asks, and Rey is pulled from her thoughts. The woman smiles thoughtfully as if she was studying her.

“What would you suggest?”

“The special this morning is biscuits and gravy, and I dare say they’re the best I’ve ever had.”

“I’ll have that, then please,” she smiles politely, and the waitress takes off again. 

A few minutes pass, and she feels like she’s being watched. 

Another woman around Leia’s age slides into the seat across from her, and looks conspiratorially over her shoulder. Instinctively, her hand comes to the hilt of her blade that rests in her lap.

“You need to leave,” she growls, and Rey straightens. “Now.”

“I thank you for your concern, ma’am, but I can take care of–”

“You have no business in my town,” she hissed. “I know what you are.”

Cocking her head slightly, Rey studies the woman with a brief flick of the eyes. There’s a brand on her wrist, and she almost regrets wearing the coat with the Resistance insignia stitched on the arm.

“I’m simply passing through, and searching for passage on a ship to the island of Ach-To.”

“Who sent you here?”

Searching for the most inconspicuous answer, she quickly shifts in her seat. The first thing that comes to mind is:

“Han Solo sent me.”

The woman blinks, and stutters slightly. Bad choice, she realizes. Han is a well known smuggler.

The waitress sets a plate in front of her, and Rey begins eating, waiting for the woman to reply. 

“It’s been decades since I’ve heard that name.”

“Then maybe you could help me.”

Lifting the hilt of her blade, she sets it beside her plate. 

“Are you...a Jedi?”

“Maybe,” Rey leans forward. “But it would do you well to stop threatening me.”

“Who do you think you are, girl? Han Solo ruined my life.”

Taking a bite of the meal before her, Rey smiles. 

“If I told you who I am, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me, Jedi,” the woman hissed. 

Lowering her voice, Rey grips the hilt in her right hand, “My name is Rey Skywalker of Jakku.”

“Should I know that name?”

“I am your queen,” She rises to her feet. “Now, will you grant me passage on a ship to Ach-To?”

-

Poe stiffened as the doors the main hall opened. He’d felt the presence growing closer, its darkness stirring inside him, filling him to the brim with fear. 

The old man was rather tall, and his face was incredibly disheveled, his golden robes and slippers glow sinisterly in the the dim light.

“Poe Dameron,” his voice commands attention, and he feels the Force close around him. All connection that he had to anything outside of the room vanishes, and it insights a panic line of thinking in his head. “Your reputation precedes you, Commander.”

“As does yours,” he snarls back, despite every instinct in his body telling him to, for once, turn off the snark. “You’re notorious for killing my people.”

“The Resistance is petty and a futile attempt to stop us,” Snoke laughs, pacing past him to where Kylo Ren kneels. “Rise my young and faithful apprentice.”

Poe bit his tongue, the sting of betrayal still fresh. They exchanged a few words in low tones, and turned back to him slowly. Snoke waves a hand, and Poe is forced to his feet, and he struggles against the invisible restraints. 

“You know where the Resistance hides, but they haven’t been able to get it out of you,” He laughs. “Your Queen has taught you well, but not well enough.”

The pain hits him suddenly, and it sears past the walls that for the most part could block out Kylo Ren. He scrambled to fight back, but can only struggle against the grip on his body. 

He screams in pain, and the location slips from his grip, and he drops to his knees, panting. 

Snoke’s laugh is eerie and rings out through the hall, shaking him to his core. Taking deep shuddering breaths, he tries gather his thoughts, failing miserably. 

“The Resistance cowers in a fortress in D’Qar,” Snoke announces. “Kylo Ren, prepare your forces. You leave tomorrow morning–”

“Yes, sir,” was the echo, but his voice cracks, and an air unsettled lingers. 

“–After Dameron’s execution. We got what we need, and it will destroy the Queen and her band of rugrats.”

Sighing, Poe realizes he had seen this coming. Clenching his fists, he prepares to be dragged out of the room, and as he is pulled up, he scowls at Snoke who grabs him by the chin.

“There’s nothing left for you to fight for,” he whispers. “You’ll never see the Queen again. At least, not until we drop your dead body at her feet.”

Poe rips his chin out of the grip and the soldier behind him shoved him forward.

-

The crisp sea breeze rustled her curls from the woman’s boat. 

She had begrudgingly granted Rey what she wanted. It was a rather large ship, in the cargo hold were what she suspected were smuggled goods. 

She’d paid the stablehand to keep Falcon safe until her return, and promised much more to the woman in return for her passage. They hadn’t left the port yet, and the woman was tying up the rigging on the starboard side of the ship. 

“You never told me your name, Captain,” she called.

“I’m not the captain, he is,” she nods to a man approaching, flanked by two guards, and a crew that appeared substantially drunk. “But… my name is Qi’ra.”

The name rings with odd familiarity, as if it had once been spoken to her casually. Smiling nervously, she rises to her feet as the man joins them on the deck. 

“Who’s this, love?” His voice is rough, and face covered in scars. He wears an elegant dark cloak, and a golden necklace in the shape of a symbol she swears she recognizes. 

“This is,” she pauses, and looks her up and down, obviously considering whether or not to lie to her boss. “Rey.”

“A wonderful pleasure to meet you, Rey, I am Dryden Vos,” he takes her hand in his, which is decked in rings, and kisses her knuckles. “How can we help you?”

There’s an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, his eyes sparkling sinisterly. 

“I need passage to an island,” She replied. “I understand that it’s called Ach-To.”

He cocks his head. 

“I’ve never heard of such a place.”

“It’s not far past Rakata,” she answers. “I can pay you generously.”

“I’m sure you could, by your accent, you’re from the inner rim.”

Biting her lip she considers him carefully, and glances at Qi’ra, who shifts nervously on her feet.

“I was born in Jakku, but my family is from Coruscant.”

He raises his eyebrows, and he laughs heartily, almost frustratedly. 

“The path you suggest is treacherous and for the most part, uncharted.”

“I’ve got a map, with notes that detail a safe path.”

He scrunches his nose, hands on his hips. He wears a child-like frown that counteracts the effect of his intimidating nature.

“Alright, we’ll take you along, lovely.”

“Thank you, Mr. Vos, you don’t know what this means to me.”

She smiles sweetly, and turns to Qi’ra, who’s once confident and intimidating demeanor has shifted to nervous. 

-

“Ren wants the prisoners,” Finn announced to the two guards. “You’re dismissed.”

They glanced at each other, and nodded. “Yes, Captain,” they replied together. 

As they head down the hallway, he enters the room slowly. They don’t pay him much attention at first, for Poe lies barely conscious on the bed and Rose tends to a would just above his wrist. 

Clearing his throat, Rose looks up, joy lighting up her face, and he feels his love for her swell inside of him. He closes the door, and she throws her arms around him, drawing him into a warm, familiar embrace. 

“What are you doing here? It isn’t safe–”

“I’m getting you out,” he declared. “We have to warn the Resistance.”

She gives him a determined look, and she shakes Poe awake. 

“Can you stand?” She whispers gently, and when his eyes flick to him, Finn can see the determination in them.

They help him up, and he ties them at their wrists. 

“We’ll take the secret passage to the stables, and then we ride to Jakku.”

Poe nods slowly, and at the end of the hallway, Rose lifts a tapestry and they descend the staircase behind it, barely any light visible. 

Lifting the trapdoor, light leaking into the tunnel, Rose checks the stable for any sign of hostiles. Once given the all clear, they climb out of the tunnel and into the hay that lines the floor. 

“Thank you, Finn,” Poe sighs. “For everything.”

“For you, my friend,” he assures, helping him to his feet, “Anything.”

Poe sighs when he spots his stallion, and rubs his muzzle lovingly. 

“Oh, Midnight,” he sighed. “It’s going to be a long ride.”

They gather gear, and Finn keeps watch near the entrance. Poe and Rose join him on horseback, and he climbs on behind Rose. Poe has slung a quiver over his shoulder, and holds a bow tight in his grip.

“Quickly, to the gates!” Finn hissed. 

“ _Hiyah!_ ” Poe calls, and the pair of horses take off. The gate guards spot them, but Poe expertly raises the bow and two arrows, shooting both in a weak spot in their armor. 

They barely make it under before the gate closed behind them, and they’re racing through the city, not flanked by a single First Order soldier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we’re starting to catch up to where I’m at in the writing thing, so don’t be surprised if my updates start to get less consistent. I wasn’t originally planning for this to be a Rey Skywalker fic but it really drove the plot I had in mind and helps to evoke the themes that I wanted to include. I hope you’ve enjoyed this chapter, and I hope there’s still more plot twists that will surprise you!


	11. XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey arrives at Ach-To. Poe, Finn, and Rose make a stop in a familiar place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a long week, finally, time for an update.

Rey looks up at the island as they approached it’s dock, sighing wistfully, feeling it’s attraction and it’s presence sing within the Force.

“This is it, girl,” Vos growls from the other side of the ship. “We got you where you wanted to go.”

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers, and absent-mindedly, she digs through her rucksack for a bag of credits. “Here, 50,000 credits, as promised.”

He snatched them out of her hands, and smiled deviously. Before she can turn away, he grabs her by the wrist, and whirls to face her. His breath on her face sends dread through her whole being.

“I could kill you if I wanted,” he whispered, and she narrows her eyes. “If you needed passage to come here, and alone, this place must be special.”

“You don’t know what your messing with,” she growled back. “This is much bigger than you.”

“I hardly think Crimson Dawn would agree,” he threatens, and it clicks into place: Qi’ra’s threats, the suspicious behavior, and Dryden’s necklace.

Feeling betrayal gathering in her throat, she glares at Qi’ra, who she suddenly regrets trusting. 

Ripping herself from his grip, she draws her blade, it’s metallic hum erupting and startling the guards. 

“Jedi…” Dryden whispers, and draws a weapon of his own. “You’re the dead queen.”

“Careful, Vos,” Qi’ra calls. “You’ve heard the stories of the Jedi. She’s a fierce warrior.”

“A fierce warrior with a fine bounty on her head.”

“If you aren’t careful, you’ll lose yours.”

He seems to grow frustrated with her, and she considers how close they are to the docks, what could be in the water, the tide, and the currents. The Force assures her that it will safeguard, and she internally curses herself for what she’s about to do. Then she remembers Luke’s journal, Poe’s letter, and the map in her bag.

Shaking her head, she steels herself, raising the blade higher, prepared to defend herself against him, against any of them. 

“Leave her on the island,” he growls. “She’ll be stuck there without anyone else to help.”

She sheaths her blade, and as the pull up to the dock, Vos grabs her by the collar and shoved her onto the wooden planks. 

“Until we meet again, little queen,” he shouts, and as she stands, she glares at Qi’ra, who tries desperately to hide the apologetic look in her eye.

-

It was a rather hilly ride through the rural and farming areas, and they only stopped for nightfall. 

The terrain evened out and grew sandier as they approached the graveyard, descending into the valley that was Jakku, an all-too-familiar, vast landscape. 

“This is where it all started for us,” Poe sighed glancing at them on the other horse. Midnight huffed below him, an agreement or a moment of remembrance of their very first encounter of Rey. “Niima Outpost isn’t far, we’ll find shelter before nightfall.”

Finn nods, and they venture further into the dunes, coming over the ridge, the ruins of a battle ages past coming into view. The Graveyard casts enormous shadows over the sparse settlement just beyond it. 

As they ride, the horses heave with exhaustion, and Poe’s skin is slick with sweat. They go through the gateway, and the scavengers give them exasperated glances, but nothing else. Finding a water trough near the edge of the settlement, he sighs, wiping his neck with a wet towel, and running a hand through his curls. His ankles throb, his wounds sting, but he can’t complain; his friends had risked being subject to escape a fate worse than death all for him, and they had all lived to see the day they could get out. 

Rose calls his name, and he is shaken from his thoughts. He fills a canteen with hot water, and they trudge through the sands towards Rey’s old home. As they approach the building, he has to grab Finns shoulder to be steadied, the pain in his legs too much to bear, but the heartache almost overpowering it.

-

_Two Years Ago_

Rey stepped out into the hall, wringing her hands close to her heart. Breathing heavily, she feels panic bubbling in her chest. She jumps when someone places a hand on her shoulder, and she whips around, grabbing them by the wrist, and then the shoulder defensively. 

She just about raises her knee to meet their crotch, and she meets their eyes, and falters. 

“Oh my Force,” she gasps, and releases him. “I’m sorry, Commander, I–”

“It’s fine,” he replied, rubbing out his wrist where she had been gripping it. “You’ve just had quite a shock and it’s quite clear you can handle yourself.”

Sighing, she sees the compassion in his eyes, and avoids his gaze stepping back. His warmth overwhelms her, and she turns her back to him once again.

“What have I gotten myself into?” she mutters under her breath. She looks up at him when he joins her, offering her his arm. 

“Come on, there’s something I want to show you,” she nods gently, taking it. He leads her through a busy hallway, and hardly any of them spare them a glance. Several do stop to salute him, and even greet him. 

They ascend into a tower, and a pair of guards stops them at the door. 

“I’m sorry, Poe,” the first, a young woman, sighs. “We can’t let you through. Princess’s orders.”

“Paige,” his voice lowered to something more gentle, and she felt a disappointment stir within her. “This is something she needs to see.”

“And who, might I ask, is this?”

“Rey, ma’am,” she addresses.

“Just Rey?”

“Rey of Jakku,” Poe adds, and smiles gently at her. “She was the King’s final protege.”

The woman exchanges a glance with the other guard, who has yet to have said a word. 

“She is also the future Queen,” he continues, and all she wants to do is hide behind him, hide from their gaze and all that might result from it.

“Fine,” Paige resolves, and straightens, giving her a once over. “Just this once, Dameron, but I swear, if you break anything like before—”

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Rey mused, somehow finding the courage again to speak. Paige laughed and gave Poe an odd quirk of her eyebrow before swinging open the door. Rey steps into the room before Poe, letting go of his anchoring grip to answer the call of the room.

It’s not a large room, and it’s brightly lit. There’s a balcony to the left of the door, and a desk and chair dead center. There’s a beautiful rug on the floor, and several extensive maps lining the largest wall. The maps are marked by notes in familiar handwriting. 

She chokes on any words that she thought she might be able to say. Coming up to the desk, she studies the highly organized set of quills, stacks of documents, and pot of exotic dried flowers that appear to have gone unwatered for several days, maybe even weeks. In the center of it all lies a journal, and she glances up at Poe for affirmation. 

She realizes that he’s not looking at her, but studying a painting she hadn’t noticed at first. Picking up the journal, she joins him in front of it. It illustrates a group of men and women in various armors and uniforms. In the center sits the current royal family, young and fresh-faced. A banner hung behind them with the symbol that was on Poe’s armor.

“The Leaders of the Rebellion,” he sighs. He points at two figures to the left of Leia. One, a tall man with dark hair, and a respectable stance, and the other, a petite woman with an intimidating stare, dark curls and a scar in her right eyebrow. “My parents.”

She smiles at his sentiment, and looks down at the journal, opening the cover. 

For Rey

“What were they like?” She asks carefully, and he visibly stiffens. She looks at her feet, and breathes in with a shudder. “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t know my parents.”

He turns and she can feel the empathy coming off of him in waves. She meets his gaze, which has visibly softened. 

“My mom passed away when I was eight,” he sighs. “She was a fierce warrior, and one of the kindest people you would ever met. Taught me how to ride when I was three. My father is a Lord in the outer rim, in Yavin, and he’s kind of intimidating at first, overbearing most certainly, but extremely brave, kind, and loyal.”

“I’m sorry about your mother, she sounds wonderful.”

“She was, but she’s in a better place now. I believe that.”

Smiling softly, she glances up at the painting once again. With her gaze fixated on Poe Dameron’s family, a sense of longing reaches out. The touch is hesitant at first, but when his hand brushed hers, she didn’t flinch like she’d expected to. He takes her hand in his, and she steadily grips back. 

-

_Present_

As she hits the crest of the island, she turns over her shoulder, catching a clear glimpse of the ship on the horizon. Shaking her head, she turns away, and sighs at the beauty of the stunningly green hillside. 

Below, there’s a small village, and it pulses with the Force. Adjusting the strap of her bag, she proceeds to the rows of huts, and smiles at the simplicity of it. It reminds her of Jakku, but without the sand. 

“Who are you and how did you find this place?” A woman calls. When Rey turns, the woman holds a spear-like tool, and is dressed similar to a nun.

“My name is Rey, I mean you no harm,” she holds up her hands defensively. “I thought maybe you could help me.”

“How did you find this place?” She pushes.

Sighing, Rey closes her eyes, and taking a deep breath, she wills the map out of her bag, unfolding it in front of her. Lids sliding open again, her hand keeps the map afloat, power tingling in her fingertips.

The woman now clutches her took to her chest shuddering.

“We haven’t had another Jedi here since–?”

“Since Skywalker?”

She nods slowly. Rey smiles assuringly.

“Come with me,” she gestures for her to follow, and they ascend a set of stairs to where a pair of huts face each other. It’s the top of the village, and it’s view of the sea is incredible. “This is where you’ll be staying… um, how long might you be staying?”

“As long as needed.” She enters the empty room, and the woman stands at the door expectantly.

“Dinner is at Sunset,” she says with a smile. “Feel free to visit the temple, but it is quite a climb.”

“Thank you–”

“Madam Adriel.”

Rey places her bag on the bed and drops her cloak on the covers. She sits quietly, and feels the Force pulse through the island. After a few moments of rest, she rises and steps out of the hut. 

Taking a deep breaths of the crisp sea air, and climbs a staircase till she finds a suitable spot of rock. She can almost spot another coastline in the distance, and the neighboring islands glisten in the afternoon sun. 

She almost trips over the set of metal tools, similar to the ones she’d used in Jakku. Furrowing her brow, she climbs up on the rock and crosses her legs. Closing her eyes, she attempts to center herself. In the darkness, the light surrounds her, out of it emerging a white stag, and it bows before her before turning away. She tries to rise, and follow it, but a dark presence overwhelms her, and she’s shaken awake.

In the distance, waves crash against the rocks below, and she is left alone on the rock, confused.

-

_Ten Years Ago_

“Step forward Lieutenant,” the Drill Sergeant commanded, and Poe stepped forward, saluting stiffly. 

“Poe Dameron, is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“At ease,” Poe nodded, and opened into second position, glancing over his shoulder at the rows of royal troops behind him. Today of all days, he had to convince his squad to stand in the front rank. “How old are you, Dameron?”

“Nineteen, sir.”

“When did you join our ranks?”

“Four years ago, sir.”

The Sergeant pulls a satisfied face, nodding slightly, as he paced in front of them. 

“Do you know why you’re here today, Lieutenant?”

“No, sir.”

“This unit of His Majesty’s Navy is up for evaluation and reassignment.”

“Permission to speak, Sergeant.”

“Granted.”

“If we are being submitted for reassignment, then are you disbanding this unit?”

“Of course not,” comes a new voice, and Poe turns to face it. Upon meeting eyes with the newcomer he once again comes to attention, and salutes, those around him follow suit. “You’ll simply be coming to Alderaan. I hear this is the finest set of troops in the country.”

“Your Majesty,” The Sergeant addresses her. “We weren’t expecting you quite yet.”

“Obviously,” Leia sighs, and looks him up and down slowly. “Lieutenant Dameron, always a pleasure. You’ve grown since I last saw you.”

A couple of his squad mates snicker, and the Sergeant scowls. 

“Just so, Sergeant, I’d like to see your top Squadron front and center.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he sighs, and resignedly he locks eyes with Poe. “Rapier Squadron, join the Lieutenant.”

Karé Kun, Iolo Arana, and Muran step forward beside him. Leia smiles that familiar smile, and Poe locks confident eyes with her, feet in first position, still at an attention. 

“I understand that this is the Rapier Squadron, the one that apprehended a group of radicals without anyone getting hurt?”

“Yes, your highness, it is.”

“And they are all top of their class?”

“The most skilled Calvary in the unit, ma’am.”

“Very well,” she sighs, satisfied. She meets Poe’s eyes, and straightens, looking up into them as if searching for something. “The four of you will be coming with me to Alderaan today, and the rest in the coming weeks. You’re all dismissed,” she pauses. “Except for Lieutenant Dameron, I’d like a word.”

The crowd dispersed, and Poe remained behind, gazing confidently at the princess. She beckons him to follow her, and they approach the command tent side by side. When they enter, there’s only one technician, and the young woman ducks out as soon as she sees Leia.

“It’s no surprise that you’re where you are,” she says matter of factly. “You’ve grown quite a bit since your last visit to the capital.”

“I’ve worked hard to be where I am, Leia, and you have no idea how much what you’re doing means for me…”

“But?”

“I’m not sure if I can accept whatever you offer because it’s coming from you.”

“I understand, Poe, but if you must know, this order came from my brother. He’ll be away training some new students for a while, and he wanted someone he trusted to be in charge of protecting the capital.”

“But why me? I mean it’s an honor, but what about those who fought by your side in the rebellion? Surely Luke trusts the likes of General Antilles or dare I even suggest, General Syndulla or Captain Wren?”

Leia considers him for a moment, and sighs resignedly.

“I admit there are more qualified people for the job, but Poe, they don’t want to fight like they used to. Wedge has a family, as do Hera and Sabine. Times have changed, and I believe Luke wanted a fresh face or two in the palace.”

Poe dips his head, searching for a reason to contradict her.

“The King wants you, Poe Dameron, and you know how stubborn the man can be. If he must, he’ll come here himself and drag you by the collar if that means you’ll take the job. He trusts you because he knows you, starboy,” she uses the childhood nickname without hesitation. “And so do I.”

He laughs softly, despite himself, memories of his childhood spent with the royal family glowing in his mind, the happier ones, at least. 

“You make a compelling argument, Princess,” He says, smirking. “I’m not sure what the future holds for me quite yet, but I’ll give it a shot.”

“Very well then, _Commander._ ”

She smirks, and brushed past him, leaving him alone in the tent. Poe lets out a breathy laugh, and turns to follow her.

-

His eyes slip open, and he’s reminded of his surroundings; the lingering heat in the air and gritty wind that blows through an old imperial bunker. 

Sitting up slowly, he takes care not to hit his head, and reaches for their canteen, only to find it empty. He drops his head back, fighting an overwhelming exhaustion. Two days in Jakku was certainly enough for him, and he can hardly imagine how Rey managed to live nineteen years of her life in the middle of a wasteland. 

Footsteps echoed above him, and Finn descended into the bunker, holding a full canteen and a small pack of rations. Rose entered from the crumbling home above, and smiled when she saw them both awake and ready. 

Poe takes a swig of water and pushes himself up, and the three of them gather in the main room. He runs his hands along the marks on the crumbling stone walls, sighing harshly. Throat ragged, he moved to the workbench where the worn-out healing supplies lie. He rewards wounds, and surveys himself for any fresh injuries, before turning back to the pair of them speaking in hushed tones.

They stop when they notice he’s watching them, and Rose grabs a bag from a hidden spot behind her. 

“Ready to go?” Finn asks, something candid in his tone, and for that, Poe notes another reason he admires the man. 

“As I’ll ever be,” he replies, reaching for his own bag, and slinging it over his shoulder. They nod, and Finn and Rose step out into the desert heat, a plethora of dry air filling the room. He glances around one last time, and his eyes meet a battered, old knight’s helmet. Grabbing it off the shelf, it’s obvious that the markings are rusted and faded, but he turns it over in his hands, thinking of Rey and how innocent she had once been. 

He opens his bag, and drops the helmet in, barely fitting among the supplies they had gathered within the last few days. They had a long journey ahead of them if they were to arrive before the First Order at Base Delta. Running a hand backwards through his hair, he steps back out into the sun where Finn and Rose stand by the horses. Peering across the barren landscape, he lets out an exhausted breath, turning back to the village behind them. A small number of scavengers had filtered in and out every day, returning to Unkar Plutt’s tent to claim their share of portions.

Poe had resisted facing Rey’s childhood abuser for the duration of the time that they spent in Niima Outpost. His lips are dry, and as he tightens his fists, he begins seriously considering it after all that the man had done to her. 

“No,” Rose says, placing a guiding hand on his shoulder. “Now is not the time, not the place to confront Plutt. We can’t risk him turning us in while we are this close to finding our way back to them.”

Setting his jaw, he closes his eyes, sighing. His head hung heavy, and resignedly he nods, and she guides him back to where Midnight waits. Sparing one final glance over his shoulder, the group mounts up, and ride quickly over the dunes, a set destination in mind.

-

Rey descends quietly from her hut for dinner as the sun begins to set. Her stomach growls as the thick scents of cooked fish and bonfire fill her senses. When Madam Adriel notices her approaching, she smiles, and becomes her to join them. There’s a certain warmth emitted by the people around her, joyful and peaceful, cut off from the New War. 

For her, however, she’s not sure she can keep that out of mind forever. 

She’s handed a wooden plate with a large fish on it but a short man. He watches her expectantly, and she asks for utensils, but he shakes his head, and she figures he doesn’t understand. Sitting beside him, she sets the plate on her lap, and grabs the smoked fish in both hands. Without hesitation, she lifts it to her lips, and takes a hearty bite. 

Groaning with the satisfaction of food after several days, and the fact that the fish just melted on the tongue, she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and smiles warmly at the man beside her, who looks quite pleased with himself.

After the sun sets, music is played on obscure instruments, and some of the Lanai dance a happy jig. She finds herself immersed in conversation by several of the temple caretakers who persistently ask her questions about the world beyond, and the force within her. 

She lies through her teeth, and she can tell that they know, but they nod along anyways. One offers to take her measurements the next day for a set of fresh robes, and feeling obliged, she graciously accepts. Their kindness overwhelms her, and she’s glad she’s not alone. 

The music falls silent, and murmurs ripple through the crowd. She doesn’t take notice until the caretakers she’s speaking to fall silent, and she turns over her shoulder to follow their gaze. There’s a cloaked figure approaching, and something familiar nudges her gut. She rises to her feet, and they turn to meet her gaze. 

Painted on his face is a look of pure surprise, and as he lowers his cloak, an elixir of confusion and anger rise in her throat. 

Shaking her head, she storms off toward her hut. Luke Skywalker calls after her, and at this point, she doesn’t know why she didn’t see it coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp.


	12. XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe, Finn, and Rose arrive in D’Qar. Rey confronts her past and the newly brewing darkness within.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the part where the plot becomes (loosely) similar to TLJ :) I didn’t really proof read this so I hope it’s all good

The walls cast an eerie shadow over them as the sun set the next day. Their pace had slowed to a slow trot as they came around to the gate. It wasn’t closed, the pikes that separated it from the outside hanging up above. 

Poe leads them in, and the courtyard is empty, and quiet. Behind him, Finn dismounts, and moves to where a circle of rocks surrounds a pile of still-hot embers. 

“Fresh,” he calls as Poe drops to his feet. “They’re still here.”

Rubbing a hand over his face, they lead their horses to the stables. There are several empty stalls, a sign of a patrol out in the field, and they occupy two of them slowly. Hand on his sword, they approach the bunker door, and the door creaks open slowly. Only daylight fills the hallway, creating harsh shadows as it descends into the flight of stairs below it. He watches Rose cautiously grab an unlit torch from it’s hanging place on the wall, and when he’s not looking it begins to glow with a flame. (He’s not sure how she had done that so quickly.)

She leads them down the hall with a confident stance, and as their footsteps echo in the quiet, the hairs on the back of Poe’s neck stand on edge. He knows they’re not alone in the bunker, and as the torchlight reveals the command center, he can see the outlines of Resistance troops and their frightened families gathered tight and close together. 

“Rose?” Comes a familiar voice, and the petite figure of Jessika Pava emerges from the darkness, her exhausted face illuminated by the fire. Rose whispers a reply, and the captain shifts her gaze towards him, a sort of relief dawning on her features. “You’re alive.” 

“Dameron?” Comes Leia Organa’s voice, and he lets out a great sigh of relief. She comes into the light, and wraps her arms around him in a motherly fashion. He returns the embrace with a slight smile. 

“ _What am I, chopped liver?_ ” He barely hears Finn whisper under his breath, and Leia laughs. 

“Far from it, Storm,” she calls, and moves to embrace him next. “You’ve saved a lot of lives.”

“Including mine,” he assures his friend, and the others begin to light the room once again. He spots Han Solo among the crowd, and a scarlet haired woman studying him intently. He doesn’t find the face he longs to see, however. 

“Where’s Rey,” he asks Leia, a twinge of fear in his throat. 

“She’s alive, but…”

“But?”

“She’s not here,” is the steady response, and Poe blinked. 

“Then where is she?” Rose interjects as Han approaches them. 

“She’s taken the map Poe sent her,” he responds, and Poe nodded slowly. “Gone alone.”

“She’ll be safe as long as she made the journey,” Poe whispered. “The First Order won’t find her there.”

-

Falling to her knees beside the cot, she frees her curls of their restraints and wipes away frustrated tears in the firelight. There’s a harsh knock on the door, and she grits her teeth. 

“Go away!” She calls angrily. 

“Rey, let me explain,” Luke starts, but she shakes her head to herself. 

“I don’t want to talk right now. I just need time to think.”

He doesn’t respond, and she wipes at her nose, clutching her knees closer to her chest. Footsteps fade as he does what she asks, and she’s alone again, a painful echo of everything she was afraid of. The Force curls around her comfortingly, and she huffs a soft laugh. 

But it suddenly shuts off, a silence filled with the crackling of flames, a bright void being filled with a dark, corrupted presence. Her heartbeat quickens, and her breath with it, her eyes darting upward. Rey barely suppressed a gasp as her gaze fell on a darkly dressed figure, who turns slowly to face her. 

“What is this?” Comes a familiar tenor, muffled by a mask. He looks her up and down as she rises to her feet, desperately searching for some way to create a defense. “You’re not doing this, the effort would kill you.”

“You’re a traitor,” she growls, clenching her fists. 

“I could say the same to you,” he bites back, and she scowls. She desperately wants him to disappear, and she turns her back to him, ducking her head. 

“Where are you? I can’t see your surroundings… and you feel far away.”

“Like I’d tell you, but even if I did you wouldn’t know where to find me.”

She studies him over her shoulder, and he watches her intently, as if waiting for something. But just as quickly as the connection had opened, her surroundings awoke again and he faded from her vision. 

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and she curled up in her bed, wiping away freighters tears. The thought of Luke alive was long forgotten, and she didn’t sleep through the harsh storm that night. 

The rocks were wet that morning, and the sun had yet to rise, but it painted the sky with a soft warning of its coming. She ascended to the temple, and as she looked out across the sea, she bathed in the light of the morning like it was a new beginning. Crossing her legs she sat up on the rock, and sighed, wanting to clear her head. Rey shut her eyes slowly, letting the Force pulse around her and warm her core. She searches for her center, and reaches out for a familiar golden signature so far away, nudging it gently. 

“It’s good to see you haven’t forgotten,” she jumps at the sound of Luke’s voice and whips around, her peace gone. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you.”

She nods, and studies him carefully. 

“You’re supposed to be dead,” she whispered. “They saw your body...or at least they told me that they did.”

“They saw what I wanted them to see…” he trailed off. “I needed to be free of the responsibility. Since I was sixteen, it was like there was a burden on my shoulders, and,” he stopped as if realizing the weight of his words. “It is the same burden I’ve placed on you.”

She avoids his gaze and furrows her brow as she searches for something reassuring to send him. 

“But why did you leave? You could have simply stepped down.”

“They wouldn’t have taken you in like I wanted them to. After I had found out about your mother I–”

“You could’ve told them the truth.”

“It wouldn’t have solved anything.”

“And what? Running away and cutting yourself off from your family did?”

He looks down, and she turns back to face the horizon, it’s glistening blue expanse bringing some sense of calm to her. There’s a reassuring pulse in her veins, and it feels as though it is muffled, and far away. She furrows her brow for a moment, the tightness in her throat preventing her from saying anymore. 

“You’re wise beyond your years, young padawan,” he whispered, and she swung her legs over the rock, and rose to join him. She’s much taller than she used to be and their eyes are even with each other. 

“I’m not just your student anymore, Luke...” she falters. “I’m your daughter. I am a sovereign ruler. I’m a fugitive.”

“You’re right, and I’m sorry that I left you to do it alone.”

Rey smiles sadly, and as she approaches, she places a hand on his bearded face. He looks up at her with ashamed eyes, and moves to embrace her. She gratefully accepts, and breathes him in. He’s far different from the man she had known, but he’s begun to seem more like the man who’d written her a journal, and the king she had heard stories about. 

He seems more like a father than anyone else ever had, and that warms her to the cold tips of her toes, all anger that she might have felt toward him passed.

-  
 _  
Rey,_

_There was so much I didn’t teach you. There was so much I didn’t warn you about._

_Much of the life that I reccounted to you excluded the pain and the heartache I experienced during my time as King, and you never even got to learn that fact. To you I was just a name and a Jedi, not some sovereign leader running from the weight of his responsibilities._

_I have always been reluctant to teach you due to the immense failures that I experienced in teaching others, the destruction and the pain that it caused many. I trust that you will take the power inside of you with a bit of salt, knowing that it could either unite or destroy two worlds._

_There has always been something special about you, Rey, and you have more power than you know._

_Luke._

She let out a heavy breath in the crisp morning air, and closing the journal, she peered towards the sunrise.

“Close your eyes,” later that day came a familiar voice. “Reach out. What do you see?”

“The island,” she starts. “Balance,” She furrows her brow as the images become more vivid. “A stag on the hillside. A dark place, cold and…” she trails off, shuttering at the strength of the pull. “It’s calling me.”

“Resist it, Rey,” Luke urges, but she can’t, and desperately she tries to pull away, but the darkness consumes her. It floods her vision, and a cruel silhouette approaches. The woman pulls away a mask to reveal her own face, eyes a harsh golden. Light fills the void, and she sees the bodies, all of them: Poe, Finn, Rose, and the rest of her kingdom fallen, dead at her feet. 

She gasped suddenly, as she trembled in the cold morning air of the cave. Luke’s hands rest on her shoulders, and she shakes herself. 

“You went straight for the dark.”

“I couldn’t resist it. It dragged me in,” She furrowed her brows, turning to face him. “But... where were you?”

His face falters, and he avoids her gaze. 

“You've cut yourself off,” she decides. “That’s why they believed you were dead.” 

There is quiet between them for a brief moment. 

“I cut myself off so Leia wouldn’t pursue me. So that you wouldn’t.”

“Was it worth being lonely?”

“I realize now that it was never worth it.”

-

“We need to leave,” Poe states to the council before him. Leia takes a seat, and he wrings his hands nervously. “The First Order knows that we are here. They have taken our home away from us, and now they seek us out in order to root our our strength and our leaders.”

“Where do you suggest we go?”

“There are the remains of old rebellion bases all around us, we can-”

“You suggest we gather our things and leave immediately?” A new voice speaks up, and the woman, tall and lean and dressed in purple, steps forward. “I’m sorry, Commander, but it’s not that simple.” 

He recognizes her in an instant, and his chest tightens as he remembers his early days in the capital. 

“Yes, Duchess Holdo, that is exactly what I am suggesting,” he continues, trying to stand his ground. “We don’t live in the same country that we used to, they’re much stronger than we thought, and they’re on their way here, now.”

She narrowed her eyes, and he can feel her scrutinizing him where he stands. 

“I hate to disagree with you, Vice Admiral Holdo,” Leia interjects before either of them can put in another word. “But if the First Order is coming for us, we need to go somewhere where they’d least expect to find us.”

“Very well, General,” she sighs and the others nod. “I respect that.”

Poe groans and glances back at Leia who smiles gently at him. 

“And it’ll do you well to respect this man as well.”

“I am Commander Dameron’s superior.”

“He and I created this Resistance together, _General_ Dameron will be leading it alongside me.”

Holdo looks resigned, and steps back. 

The next day, they’ve departed, and tailing the group, Poe glances back over his shoulder to the west. He rubs Bee’s scruff with the back of his finger, and sends him off. 

His broad wingspan glistens in the sunlight, and he soars towards the western horizon, towards the sea. 

Poe wonders if it’s simply instinct, or if Bee follows the breeze of the Force on the wings of something more important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was slow to write and I’ve caught up to myself so idk when I’ll have the next chapter up.


	13. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey sees Kylo Ren for what he truly is. The Resistance is denied assistance as they flee. Rey receives an unwelcome open door to the dark side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof.

That night, instead of taking dinner with the caretakers, she took it alone. She swung her legs up onto the cot, and pulled her coat over her shoulders as a coarse breeze blew across the island. There was a storm coming, and she could feel it. 

She finished her soup just as the rain began to fall, and she placed the empty bowl on the floor beside her, drawing her knees up to her chest. She heard the door to Luke’s hut slam shut in the wind, and thunder cracked overhead. She shook with fear and every muscle in her body tightened, hair on the back of her neck standing on edge. 

“Why are you afraid?”

She bit back a harsh comment, and breathed a deep sigh. 

To her surprise, the storm roared on.

“Why won’t you look at me?”

She scoffed, and angled herself away from him even further. 

“You think I’m a monster,” he mused. “For what I did.”

“You are a monster,” she scowled. 

“That’s right,” She furrowed her brow and turned back to him, and he gazed at her with a sick feeling of satisfaction radiating from him. “I am.”

With that, he’s gone, and she resolved that she knows she won’t sleep that night.

-

_General,_

_We regret to inform you that, in the wake of the Hosnian Cataclysm, we can neither support nor oppose the Resistance effort._

_Congratulations on the promotion._

_The Duke and Duchess of Coursant._

Poe dragged his hand back through his curls, as he paced the tent, shooing away the messenger. He placed it in the pile of denials that had come to them in the past few days. 

“It’s Poe, right?” Comes a voice, stepping into the tent. 

“Only when I’m off duty,” he sighs, recognizing her from some distant memory. “Which is pretty much never.”

“It’s good that you’re doing something. Leia needs the help these days.”

“Duchess Jade, if you’ve come to ask me for something, you best ask for it, otherwise–”

“Please, just call me Lady Mara,” she sighs, looking exhausted. “And I did come to ask you something. You were close to Rey, yes?”

Mara studies him carefully, and he considers what Leia has told him before. He licks his lips, and pinches the bridge of his nose reluctantly. 

_“She’s Rey’s mother. Rey didn’t seem like she was going to be forgiving.”_

“I know the Queen better than most, you could say.”

She leans on the makeshift table, and ducks her head. 

“She’s never going to forgive me, is she?” She whispered, her voice cracking, and Poe tried to sympathize with her, but after everything he had to watch Rey go through, it’s a pill almost to big to swallow. 

“Rey has dealt with being alone her whole life,” he paused. “She told me that she’d always dreamed of having a family again, but she also told me that she thought she had found it. I’d say give her time, a lot has happened in the last couple of weeks, and she’s barely had any time to breathe. Rey is one of the strongest people that I know, and she’ll come around eventually, even if she thinks she doesn’t want to now.”

Mara huffs, amused or relieved, he’s not quite sure. When she meets his gaze again, he holds back every harsh thought he had about her to consider the pain that this was causing her. 

“You love her, don’t you?” she sighs, and Poe laughs nervously.

“That obvious, huh?”

“It’s okay, Dameron, you’re safe unless you mess it up. You’re a good man, and a good leader.”

“Thank you, that means a lot to me.”

She places a hand on his shoulder before departing the tent, leaving him to his own devices once again.

-

“Lady Rey?” a woman calls behind her as she began to scale the steps towards the temple. The sky was clear of any clouds that morning, and she was to meet Luke for meditation. 

“Good morning,” she tries to greet politely, but it comes out obviously forced. 

“I’m sorry to disturb you,” Rey turns to face her, and she spots a bundle of grayish fabric in her hands. “But I’ve just finished these, and I’d thought you’d like them before you leave.”

“Before I leave?” Rey questions. “I’m not leaving?”

She smiles knowingly, and holds out the bundle. She accepts it, and tucks it into her bag. Turning slowly, she furrows her brow, and begins her ascent once again. 

The cool breeze rolls up her spine, and as she reaches a platform, she looks over her shoulder. Narrowing her eyes, they fix on an entity in the water. A small ship. She suspects it to be a fishing boat, and shrugs as she continues up the next flight of stone steps. 

Setting her bag down by the entrance, she peers around for Luke, but her face falls when he’s nowhere to be found. Biting her lip, she circles the mosaic in the center of the cave, admiring the way the light glimmers in the pool of water. 

There’s a whisper, and she whips her head around, facing the stone wall. For the first time, she sees the painting glowing.

Taking slow steps towards it, she traces her fingers along the mural. It depicts a war between the Sith and the Jedi which ultimately laid waste to the entire kingdom, especially the outer rim. In its place, a new monarchy rises with the remainder of the Jedi as the noble warrior defender of the nation the Sith defeated.

She stops as the depictions of peace come to a halt with a glowing prophecy. 

“The chosen one will bring balance to the Force.”

The voice fills her head, and Rey steadies her gaze on the glowing face painted before her. It’s of a young boy, not much older than the age of ten. 

The mural depicts the return of the sith, the boy’s fall to the dark side, and the horrid extinction of the Jedi. She shutters when she realizes who it is. She follows the painting down into a tunnel, and it shows a boy from Tatooine growing into a hero.

He ascends the throne when the Empire falls, pledging peace with the newly reborn jedi, and she cautiously glances over her shoulder to see if anyone is watching. It feels as though a set of eyes bore into the back of her neck, but still she continues. 

Rey only stops when she reaches the current moment as it continues past it into and odd circuit of circles and triangles with a painting of an owl-like bird perched above it.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the tunnel, and she whips around, only the glow of the mural illuminating her vision. A ghostly breathing fills the room, and she stumbles backwards as the light of a red blade fills the room. It raises, and she falls backwards onto something coarse. She holds her arm up and shuts her eyes, bracing for the killing blow. 

“Vader, that’s enough,” comes a foreign voice, and when she blinks her eyes open, a figure stands above her, filling the cavern with blue light. The roughness beneath her is revealed to be the twisted roots of an old tree. 

“Rey? Are you alright?”

She has to take a moment to process that she can see through the man standing above her.

“Uh…I-I’m…um…”

“You’re not going crazy, Rey,” he says, kneeling in front of her. His face echoes the one of the young boy in the mural. 

“Who are you?”

He cocks his head, and she blinks again, slowly this time. 

“Anakin Skywalker,” she states.

“The one and only,” he sighs, and offers her a hand, which she reluctantly takes. Her eyes fall on the shelf of books, entangled in the roots of the tree above the cave, and Anakin sighs. He places her hand on one of the roots, and the cold touch slips away. “Feel the light, let it fill you up.”

She closes her eyes, and warmth pumps through her blood, and when they slip open, the cavern is alight by small glowing spurs of light. 

“It’s beautiful,” she says, and turns back to face the ghost of her grandfather, whose face is now partly obscure by shadow, and the figure that looms behind him. Her face falls when Anakin’s eyes gaze back at her golden. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s conflict in this place, but the darkness corrupts absolutely,” he growls in a different, unearthly voice, taking slow steps towards her, blue light flickering with red. “Don’t let it take you, like it took me.”

His hand closes around her wrist, and she startled when his eyes began to glow white. His power filled her up, and she collapses.

When her eyes are filled with light again, she’s lying in a field of grass. The air is crisp, but the sounds are distant, muffled even.

A Resistance camp surrounds her, and no one seems to notice her presence. The crews run around hurriedly, and she rises, approaching the command tent. Pushing the curtain open, she sees Leia and Poe side-by-side scanning a map, they point at one location, the word Crait scribbled above the tack. 

But as she steps forward, they both look up, and she turns around to follow their gaze. 

There stands an unfamiliar figure dressed in Resistance colors, a dark bandana obscuring the lower half of his face. He slowly draws a blade, and it ignited a fierce scarlet. 

Stumbling back, she shakes herself out of it, and Anakin’s shadow gazes back at her as the lights of the blossoms flicker above. 

-

Holdo joined them in the tent, and Poe studied her cautiously as she surveyed the map spread across the table before them. She brushed her dyed, purple curls out af her eyes, and places her finger over an isolated location on the map with no other markers. 

“Are you sure it’s still there?” Leia questions, and Poe furrows his brow. 

“We must trust that it is,” Holdo sighs, meeting Poe’s hesitant eyes. “Crait is the home of an unused, but heavily fortified Rebellion base, and until we find somewhere safer, it’s a good place to lay low.”

He nods, rubbing his chin, and studding the map again, peering at the illustrations of the cliffs and the salt basin’s expanse. A good place for an easy defense, but exposed from the front. 

Both of them peer at him, and he sighs hesitantly. 

“We’ll have to take our chances, we don’t have much choice,” he replied, and looked up at Holdo. “I trust you.”

She blinked back surprise, and Leia placed a hand on his shoulder.

-

She leaned her back against the wall of the main cavern, and rubbed her arms anxiously. Rey couldn’t concentrate on meditation, not now. 

Startling as Luke enters the cavern, she pushed herself to her feet. He looks at her with wide eyes, worry painting his gruff features.

“W-What is that place?” She gestures to the tunnel, and shutters as a cold breeze blows through the temple. 

“The Library of the first Jedi texts,” he answers gently. “And a door to the world between worlds.”

She swallows her words, unsure of what to say of Anakin’s conflicted ghost, and she takes a step back as he approaches. 

“What’s wrong?” He asks, gentler this time, and she blinked back tears, hoping he doesn’t see them in the dim light. 

“My friends,” Rey stutters, lifting her eyes to meet his. “They’re in danger.”

“What did you see in there?”

She shakes her head, and he nods, seeming to understand. 

“I think I need some fresh air,” she manages, and grabs her bag, not leaving him a single moment to respond.

Moving away from the steps, she stumbles down the hillside, her mind spinning, and she loses her footing. She falls hard onto a stone landing, and the contents of her bag spill out in front of her, her curls now free from their buns. 

Rey’s gaze falls on the saber, and she reaches for it, pushing her hair out of her eyes, and regaining her footing. 

With a steadying breath, she closes her eyes, and concentrated on finding a center, trying to remember the forms she had been taught all those months ago. 

It flows naturally the moment she ignited the blade, and after a few minutes of exhausting footwork and sword swinging, she pauses, and looks up to the rock before her. 

Upon it sits a falcon, and he clicks his beak at her as she recognizes him. 

“Bee?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy St. Patricks Day!! In Rey’s Force-ghost induced vision, you get a taste of what’s to come. I’m starting to see where I’m actually going with the plot now so :,)


	14. XIV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey departs, and Poe shares a moment with his squadron over drinks and a fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of flashbacks; both of the ones in this chapter relate to the one way back in chapter 4 so if you want to read that before hand it might be a good idea.

_Thirteen Months Ago_

Above her, Rose braided her hair absentmindedly as she continued on about Finn, and Rey only pretended to listen, her thoughts far elsewhere. 

Her first presentation to the court and the senate was fast approaching, and every possible worse-case scenario played on repeat in her head. If she didn’t make a good first impression, she’d have to prove herself to them through the coming social season. Even if she did, it’d still be quite the task to keep up appearances minus the exhaustion any interaction with crowds brought her.

“—is the only person that I’ll be dancing with next week,” Rose babbled, stopping for a moment to catch her breath, but Rey cursed inwardly when she realized Rose knew she hadn’t actually been listening at all. “Who do you want to go dancing with at the ball, My Lady?”

Rey had to bite her tongue so as not to laugh. The absurdity of the thought of being one of the most eligible women in the country during the social season before her coronation seemingly escaped her. 

“I assume I’ll be dancing with everyone,” she groaned. “Given my position.”

“Yes, Rey, but I asked who do you want to dance with as opposed to who will force themselves upon you.”

Her eyes flickered to the door to her room which was cracked open just enough to see the ever-present shadow of Poe Dameron standing guard, looking handsome even if he seemed to be nodding off. 

Shaking herself, she brushed the thought away, and assured herself, ‘He’s your guard, your relationship is professional.’

“No one, really. I don’t know enough people at court to say quite yet.”

Rose sniffed, evidently unconvinced as she tied the braid with a silk ribbon with gentle hands. 

“I wouldn’t mind you stealing a dance with Finn,” she mused, obviously trying to be comforting. “You’re his best friend around here, besides Poe, and you’re probably an amazing dancer!”

“Yeah,” Rey giggles, her tone sarcastic. “If dancing means stepping on your partner’s toes in pointy stilettos, then yes, I’m a great dancer.”

Rose laughed loudly, and Rey shook her head as she joined her on the bed. 

“I know I haven’t been here long,” she sighed, and Rose simply studied her. “But thank you for being there for me.”

Rose smiles and places a gentle hand on Rey’s cheek, before embracing her.

-

_Present_

Rey sat on the cliff side as a gentle drizzle began, and Bee perched on her arm, looking as forlorn as any bird could. The sun had just set, the last of its rays still lighting the clouds. She lifted her finger and rubbed at the damp, soft feathers of his throat. 

Something was wrong if he was here, now, instead of with the others. It didn’t help with the unease in her stomach.

Luke sits beside her, placing a hand on her back. 

“The future is an ever-changing chain of events,” He whispers, and she avoids his gaze. “What you saw may never come to pass.”

“I don’t want to be the person who does nothing,” she sighs, and Bee clicks his beak. “That’s not why I came here.”

He was silent for a moment, his gaze careful and loving. 

“What do you want to be?” He asked finally, his gaze softening as she felt her emotions start to crumble. 

“Someone worthy of my friends,” she answered, wondering what Finn and Rose might be doing right then. “A Queen strong enough to defend her kingdom.”

She thought of Poe, and his warm, brown eyes, and the feeling of his arms around her. Safety and comfort and love.

_“Happy.”_

Her voice cracks, and Rey wipes at tears on her cheeks that blend with the droplets. Bee flutters his wings and she lifts her arm. He pushed of, soaring away from them, but he wasn’t leaving, not yet.

Luke wrapped his arm around her, and she leans up against him, feeling helpless under the weight of her fears.

“If you leave,” he says quietly. “I won’t be able to go with you.”

She grips the coarse fabric of her father’s robes tighter, and looks up at him with questioning eyes. 

“I taught you all that I could’ve,” he whispers. “You just have to control it.”

“I don’t have a way to get off this island.”

“But you do,” Luke lets go of her. “That’s your final test.”

-

Poe sat beside Sura and Snap beside the fire, Karé and Jess bickering about something unnecessary across from them. He can’t stop thinking about the last letter from one of their allies, yet another group of people that would not support them, that would not support Rey.

“Stop it,” Sura growled at him, and he blinked. 

“What?”

“Brooding!” 

“Me?” He furrows his brows further. “I’m not brooding!”

“Yes, Dameron, you are,” Snap nudges him lightly. “I’ve seen that look before. When she turned you down the first time.”

“This is different,” he mutters.

“Ha!” Sura laughs. “You admit it.”

“I’m worried about our odds.”

“I thought we agreed, no war talk tonight,” Jess added. “Ah! And here comes Kaz with our drinks!”

Poe shakes his head as the mugs get handed around, and Kaz joins them, an almost convincing smile on his features.

“Take a break, Poe,” Sura slurs a few drinks later. “You can’t let them get inside your head.”

He grimaced, knowing full well that they had already done that. Literally. She apologizes gently, but he brushed it off as nothing, and Kaz peers at him with something heartbroken. 

Poe shakes his head and looks at his feet, feeling the warmth of the fire and the buzz of the alcohol. 

As the night passes, they turn in one by one, and the fire is reduced to embers as he and Kaz are the last ones remaining. 

“What’s on your mind, kid?” Poe asks, and his gaze shoots up looking startled. 

“I-It’s nothing,” his tone doesn’t convince Poe.

“I remember when you used to tell me every little detail.”

“That was in my reports, that’s different.”

“Okay, how about I tell you something about me that most people don’t know, and then you tell me what’s going on. I only want to help you.”

Kaz doesn’t respond, but there’s interest in his eyes.

“Before I first came to the palace, just after we had been reassigned, my squadron and I rode one last mission in the outer rim. We ran into some trouble and barely escaped with the clothes on our back.”

“The First Order,” Kaz states, and Poe nodded. 

“We didn’t all make it though,” he sighs, and he struggles to let the words flow. “Muran, my first mate, took one bolt, and was gone. There was nothing we could’ve done, and I took all the blame for it. He was the first person I had ever loved like that, and he was dead right before me.”

He blinked. Did he say that out loud?

“Oh, I’m sorry,” comes a sincere response, but Poe shakes his head. 

“It was a long time ago, it still hurts, but I’m sure he’d want me to be happy.”

There’s a moment of silence between them, and Kaz sighs.

“My parents,” he whispers. “They died in Hosnian.”

Poe blinks and takes a swig of his drink, and rubs the bridge of his nose. Kaz avoids his gaze, but Poe struggles to find the right response. 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to say anything.”

He nods, lips forming a thin line, and he drops his head. 

“Kaz, there are people here who care about you,” he says finally, speaking over the constant sound of crackling. “You don’t have to be alone.”

He lets out a relieved breath, as if some great weight had been lifted off of his chest.

-

“Do you really think they’ll accept you after you left them?”

Rey shook her head as she wrapped the fabric along the bottom of her sleeves, and pulled the short, leather gloves over her soft hands. She looked like a Jedi Knight of the old republic, and that sparked some pride in her.

“You know what, Kylo Ren?” She spits the name and whips around. “I care about my people, and that is why I came here, so that I could better fight for them. Unlike you, a spineless, self-centered child who doesn’t realize he’s being used.”

Ben looks taken aback by her harsh outburst, and she glowers at him, tightening and untightening her fists to remain calm.

“The Supreme leader is wise.”

“You’ll never get what you want, he’ll squash you like a bug if you even try. I’ve seen what Snoke can do to people”

“And what have you seen?” 

She slings her bag over her shoulder, and leaves the hut promptly. To her dismay, he follows her like a shadow. 

She pauses before she moves over the hillside towards the Lanai’s docks bellow.

“Snoke creates chaos wherever he goes. He committed an act of genocide in Hosnian. If that’s the type of leader you wish for your country, then so be it. You’re not the person that I thought I knew.”

“Rey–”

“No,” she hissed. “You’ve got no right to lecture me like you used to. Even that was an act.”

With that, the connection slammed shut, and she stormed over the hill. 

She stumbled as she came to the dock, where a ship is prepared and a few of the women stand beside Luke, who holds an ancient book. 

He offers it to her, and she turns the aged book over in her hands.

“What’s this?”

“One of the first Jedi texts,” he says, running his hand along the spine. “I hope that it might guide you.”

“Thanks, dad,” she smiles, and he cups her cheek gently. 

“Come back one day, will you?”

“Assuming I live to see that day, of course.”

“You will, I can feel it.”

She bids the others that had gathered farewell, and boarded the small sailboat. Disembarking towards the distant horizon, she only looks back to catch Luke’s eye one last time.

Bee soars overhead as the current carries them. 

When night falls, the skies are clear, their vast expanse of stars hold her gaze as the journey back to the Resistance seems far away.

-

_Fourteen Months Ago_

He hesitated at the door, raising his hand to knock. 

She’d danced with him briefly at the ball, but they hardly had any time to talk as they focused on the complex steps that they’d practiced together. He’d taught her that dance after she dismayed about how everything that she’d already learned had been far too refined. He was surprised that the orchestra had even played it at all. 

He smiles at the thought of the way Rey’s curls bounced, and how her cream dress swung, and the brilliance of her smile as they spun around and around in the crowd. 

Blinking, he raps his knuckles on the door, and crosses his hands behind his back. Poe heard her footsteps approaching the door, and tries his best to swallow the nerves in his throat. 

After all, it was only a kiss.

When the door swings open, his words catch in his throat as he gazed at her. 

“Poe?” She asked gently, one hand on the door handle, the other on the frame. 

“Rey,” he states, and she holds the door open for him, letting him enter into the dim chamber. Her dress is slung over the chair, and her pumps are discarded haphazardly. When he turns back to her, he notices for the first time her deep blue robe tied over a delicate, white nightgown. “Can we...talk?”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing?” Rey responds playfully, her eyes scanning him for any sign of response. But her eyes are red rimmed and swollen, her smile failing to reach them.

“Have you been crying?” He steps towards her cautiously, his demeanor softening. 

“It’s nothing,” she dismissed him.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I understand.”

She looks down, her face falling. 

“So many of them hated me,” she whispers, clutching her arms. “I could see it in the way they looked at me, I could sense it.”

“Since when were you one to care about what the court thought?” 

She shook her head, and turned, before handing him a small piece of parchment.

He read the inky scrawl with hesitation:

_To our future queen,_

_I have looked forward to meeting you for a long time, but due to...unfortunate circumstances that have placed a ban on my presence in the palace, I must still remain anonymous._

_You may look and act the part, My Lady, but you are still a desert rat. You can not deny that you do not belong, and it will be your downfall._

_-S_

He traces the scarlet insignia next to the single-letter signature, and glances back up at her. 

“Who gave you this?”

“I-I don’t know,” She stutters, and looks afraid again. “It was in my chambers when I returned here.”

He ran a hand over his face, and set the note back on the drafting table. Poe wraps his arms around her, and she melted into his embrace. 

“You do belong here, Rey,” he kisses her hair, and holds her tighter. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

She nestles into the space between his neck and shoulder. She lets in a shuddering breath, and whispers a quiet, “Thank you.”

-

_Present_

She docks in the small seaside town she had set off from, and finds Falcon in the stable she’d left her in. Paying the stable hand generously, she mounts and drapes her cloak over her shoulders. 

The journey wouldn’t be long, but she prayed that she’d make it in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 


	15. XV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance is cornered by the Knights of Ren and Rey arrives to help them hold their ground.

She sees the smoke rising from the camp as she comes over the crest, her heartbeat quickening with fear. It seemed deserted as she dismounted, and left Falcon on the edge of it. 

Keeping her hand close to her blade, Rey steps through the rubble, alert to every single noise that filled the camp. She ducks behind a pile of rubble when she spots the six figures looming over the far edge of the clearing, and nimbly ducks behind some rubble.

“Rey?” Comes a familiar voice, and she whips her gaze to the source.

“Finn!” She jumps forward, and wraps her arms around him. “You're safe!”

He squeezes her tightly, and as he pulls away, he scans her over, taking in the look of her robes. 

“Not all of us are,” he whispers. “They’ve cornered us in here, blocked off the exits. Rose and a few others are pretty hurt. Mara’s tending to them but Poe, Holdo And Leia are held up with Black Squadron on the other side,” he gestures another pile of rubble across the way. She glances over her shoulder, and sees a few silhouettes huddled against the remnants of a command tent. 

She lets out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, but a thought enters her mind before she can relax.

“If they’ve blocked off the exits, then how did I get in?”

“I don’t know, but there are a few people who I’d know would be glad to see you.”

She nods, and glances over her shoulder again.

-

“Could you make out who that rider was?” Jess asks him, but he’s still watching them, their gentle figure in gray robes sweeping stealthily through the camp. Something tugs in his gut, and a resolve fills him. 

“I didn’t see their face, but I’ve got a pretty good guess,” Poe sighs, and tries to hide his smile. “We might have a fighting chance, after all.”

-

“Kid, you’re okay!” Han calls, and stands to greet her. She welcomes his warm embrace, and Chewie limps towards her happily. 

“I’m fine, but I don’t like this,” she scratches the old dog behind his ears. “What happened to you, good boy?”

“Ah, nothing he can’t walk off later,” Han sighs. “How was the island?”

She looks back to the small crowd. If this was all that was left they didn’t have very much to go on. Her eyes caught Mara’s, and she nodded respectfully, but a knot caught in her throat as her gaze returned to him. Pain hides behind it.

“Luke…” she whispered, only loud enough for Han to hear. “He’s alive.”

Han blinked, and could only stare. He eventually nods, and doesn’t answer, looking as though he’s seen a ghost. 

She approaches the area where Mara tends to the wounded. There are many with nasty burns and broken bones, but among the dead are charred stab wounds. 

Maybe it was too late.

Rey drops to her knees beside her mother, and lets in a shaky breath. Mara places a hand on the small of Rey’s back, and whispers quietly, “I know,” her voice cracking with pain.

She glances to where Finn kisses Rose’s forehead, Rose who lies sleeping in his lap restlessly, and looks at the charred ground below her.

“I should’ve been here,” she choked. “I could’ve–”

“You’re here now,” Mara rubs small circles with her knuckles. “That’s what matters.”

“How can we escape?” 

“We do what a Rebellion is meant to do,” Rey meets her eyes. “We fight.”

-

Kylo Ren left the Knights bickering at the edge of the camp, as he strode further into it. 

She was here, and now all he had to do was end it. End her.

-

“Stay down,” Finn whispered, watching the masked figure strolling through the wreckage like it was the palace gardens. “Kylo Ren is headed this way.”

They were crouched behind the rubble, and the group of uninjured soldiers gathered a few feet away, awaiting their orders.

“Good,” Rey responded. “I’ll hold him off while you get to the others.”

“What?” He whirled on her. “No, you’re too important.”

“Finn, it’s too dangerous for anyone else, you saw what he did to the others–”

“Kids?” Han called and they both fell silent. Finn looked at him expectantly, feeling the nerve that they didn’t have much time. “Let me.”

“Han–” Rey protested, but he cut her off with a stern glare.

“He’s my son, Rey, please,” Finn saw her flinch, but bit his lip. “Let me do this for all of you.”

He waits for Rey to give the order, but Finn watches her struggle to find the words.

“Okay,” Finn states. “We don’t have much time left, General Solo,” he pauses and turns to the group. “As soon as he gets up there, Rey will lead Alpha team to the others. Beta, you’re with Mara and I. We’re going to get as many of the injured to the far edge of camp. Once we’re all clear, we head straight for the rendezvous at Crait, no turning back, no one left behind.”

Rey hugs Han tightly, and whispers something quietly to him. He nods. 

“We’ll see you on the other side, Han,” Finn says, Rey hearing the hopeful lie in his tone, and Han determinedly climbs over the barricade, claiming Kylo Ren’s attention in an instant. 

-

“He’s a madman,” Sura whispers, pulling the scope down from her eyes. 

“Who is?” Poe moves to join her, and she hands it to him. General Solo approaches the murky figure of Kylo Ren. Their voices echoed through the clearing, but the words are too distant to be made out. 

He looks back at the small group, where Holdo whispers to a distant Leia, and Kaz and the others watch the pair of them. 

Footsteps fill their hearing, and they turn to see a group of soldiers approaching. They move hastily, and suddenly they’re all on their feet, on edge again. He glances over to see the others across the way helping the wounded escape. 

“It’s a distraction,” comes a familiar voice, and he latched onto the sound of it, turning quickly towards it. “We need to move.”

Poe quickly moves through the crowd as Sura calls after him.

“Leia, please, take the others and go,” she pleaded, and Poe stops when he sees her figure, kneeling before his mentor. Holdo looks up at him, and Leia follows her gaze. Rey turns, her face more tired and broken than he’s seen it, and rises to her feet. 

“She’s right, Leia,” Holdo says. “We’ve got to go now, or not at all.”

Rey blinks, and turns back to them for a brief moment. 

“Join the others at the edge of the camp,” she commands. “We’ll be there shortly.”

She turns back to him, and he finds himself frozen as he stares at her, alive. With quick strides, she wraps her arms around him, and he melts into her embrace, pulling her flush against him.

“Gods, Rey,” he breathed, kissing the top of her head. 

She pulls back to look at him, and she wipes his tears away with her thumb. He’s blatantly aware of the others watching. 

“I’m glad you’re alive,” she whispers. “But this isn’t the time for this.”

“Okay,” he sighs, but she kissed him, chaste and sweet, before letting go and gesturing for him to follow. 

She kneels beside Sura, and the three of them watch Han confront his son.

-

“Take that off, you don’t need it,” Han sighed, trying to swallow his pride and his fear. “I want to see the face of my son.”

Ben places his hands at its base and lifts it away. His eyes flicker behind him, and Han jolts.

“You don’t want this life, Ben,” he whispered. “You won’t ever be able to stop if you don’t stop now.”

“It’s too late for that,” is the harsh response from the lips of his son, who looks far paler than he should, and the dark rings under his eyes suggest all of the pain. 

“I can see it in your eyes, Ben, it’s weighing you down.”

“You don’t know what I want,” Ben bites, and steps closer, but Han holds his ground. “That was always the problem, wasn’t it, father?”

-

The others have funneled out, the quiet of their small cover filled by only three others. Finn has joined them, and is telling Poe and Sura the plan. 

Rey’s ears are filled with the distant words of Kylo Ren, and they’re booming loud inside her head. Poe’s hand around her wrist is steadying, and she tries to relax, but she knows in her gut that she sent Han to his death, and is dreading the moment that it happens. 

“Rey we have to go,” he whispers, but she shakes her head, turning back to the pair. 

Her eyes widen as Han falls to the ground, a glowing blade through her chest. Kylo levels his gaze at her, and steps over his father’s body.

“Run,” she cried, holding back tears and the pain that fills the cavity in her chest.

“What?” The others follow her gaze, and see him approaching. Through the thick smoke emerges five more figures. 

_”Run!”_

It doesn’t take them another second of thought, and Sura leads them towards the grassy hill, where a Falcon and another horse left by the others await them. 

But she stops, the Force pulsing, and she turns slowly, the wind whipping her hair against her face. Among the smoke stands a glowing, white stag, and when she spots it, it turns and walks the opposite direction.

“You’ve come all this way,” his voice echoes in her head, and she spins back to them, as they mount up. “And you’re not even going to fight?”

_“Rey, no,”_ Poe mouths, as if he’s heard it, too. 

But she’s already turned away, unhooking her hilt from her belt. Holding her arm straight out, she ignited the blade, it’s metallic hum overpowering the crackling of embers. 

“Go,” she calls, and she sees Sura hoisting Poe up behind her before he can react. She nods, and the horse gallops over the hill, but Finn still grips Falcon’s reigns, still stands behind. 

She doesn’t turn back to him, but begins her advance towards them.

“This is my path,” she says to herself, trying to assure herself that this was what she wanted. “The Force guides me.”

Her breathing even, Rey advances slowly, blade hung in a defensive position, sizzling against the metal fighter gauntlets she wore on her wrists. 

She startled when she finds herself surrounded by darkly-cloaked nights, her trained stance faltering. 

“Ah, sweet Rey,” his voice, muffled by the mask he’d cast away to kill Han, cuts through her strength and sends fear down her spine. “They do not deserve you.”

She chokes on her words as she swivels, facing each of the knights individually, assessing her options; only one other held a lightsaber, and the rest sported fortified blades or axes. 

If these were the rest of Snoke’s trained warriors, not unlike the one she fought in Sullust, she was in for a bloody fight.

“Afraid?” Kylo asks, spinning his blade as he approaches slowly. She simply scowls, and begins circling. 

“Are you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The majority of this chapter was written past 10:00 pm when I actually had an idea. I know that Han’s death was a little heartless here, but I promise it will be touched upon more. Hopefully I can touch on what happened to Kes too.


	16. XVI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey faces Kylo Ren and the Resistance fights for survival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY THOUGH THE RISE OF SKYWALKER UM YES I CANT WAIT EIGHT MONTHS
> 
> meanwhile I tried to finish this chapter so I could start on a IX speculation fic but I’m not entirely satisfied with the end of this but I’ve been stuck on it all week and I mean I guess

The entrance to the Crait stronghold is heavily fortified, and as Suralinda rides past the gate, Poe tries to ease the panic bubbling in his chest. 

Holdo greets him with worried eyes, and she quickly guides him through wide corridors filled with crates of mined ores. They pass a large room where most of the survivors gather, and enter another smaller one at the end of the hall. 

“Leia?” He asks gently, approaching her slowly. She turns over her shoulder, and in the dim light, her face appears much more gaunt than it had before. Her eyes are filled with grief, but they light up slightly as she recognizes him.

“Poe,” she gestured for him to come closer, but fails to meet her eyes. He opens his mouth to tell her, but she cuts him off. “I know, but this is no time to grieve, we must devise a plan.”

“But–”

“No,” she shakes her head and holds his gaze, steady and sure. “We have sent several riders out with requests for help, and Black Squadron has their orders to head for Ikkrukk for support.”

“Am I to go with them?”

“No, we need you here, especially with Rey having rejoined us,” she sighs.

He nods and Leia places a hand on his shoulder. 

“This country, we no longer have control,” Holdo advances, and with a resigned look. “But we have to show our people that we are still fighting.”

-

_Thirteen months ago_

“Hey!” She groaned, pushing herself up from the mat. 

“You asked me not to go easy,” Poe offered her a hand, the other occupied by a mock-blade. “This is me not going easy.” 

Groaning she takes his hand as he pulls her up, grabbing her own sword. She blushes under his smug gaze, and she turns the blade over in her hand once more. 

“Ready to go again?” She asks, taking a few steps back, and opening her feet into a defensive position. 

He shakes his head sarcastically, and swings his sword tauntingly. Instead of attacking first, she drags her feet in practiced form waiting for his offense. 

He grows impatient, and aggressively swings at her feet, which she jumps over and counters his next blow, and pushes back with newfound strength. 

\- 

Present 

The plasma of the blades burned hot against her face, the grime from being knocked down smearing her face. Her breath heavy, she staggers back towards the enclosing circle of knights. 

One takes a swipe, and she feels the heat of her own blood sting and stain her tunic. Crying out in pain, she turns back to Kylo Ren, who’s crackling, untamed saber taunts her as he circles her. 

Clutching her shoulder, she swings her blade like Poe always did when he could still overtake her. 

Shaking his head with disapproval, Kylo bears down on her and the crossguard hisses angrily as he attempts to use his size to overpower her, but with the blades caught on each other, she pushes with her own blade towards his hilt. It sizzles off, and he stumbles back momentarily as is flung to the edge of the circle. 

The Knights draw their weapons, edging closer, cornering her further. As she desperately attempts to find an exit point, the one nearest to her surges forward, catching her off guard. With the wide-bladed sword, she slashes Rey’s shoulder, and Rey loses her grip on her blade as her her stance falters under the pain. With her knees now in the soot, she backs away from the Knight. Before she can recover, a hand comes to her collar, and forces throws her forward. Not a second after, an invisible force closes around her throat, and her feet rise above the ground. Clawing at her neck, she gazes desperately at Kylo Ren, who’s intense posture frightens her even further. 

The edge of her vision darkens, and she feels her strength slipping away.  
Suddenly, she falls to the ground, gasping and coughing. One of the Knights grabs her from behind as the others pursue something in the direction she had come from. When she faces Kylo, a single arrow is buried in his chest, just a safe distance away from his heart. With a grunt of pain, he wretches it out, and hooks his blade on his belt. 

Rey struggles against the grip of the Knight, and as Kylo advances, she manages to get one of her hands free. Reaching out with the Force, she calls on her saber, and the hilt response, almost hitting him upside the head as it rushes into her hand. Hooking her foot under the Knight’s leg, she sweeps his feet from under him, and kicks his head hard enough to knock him out cold. 

With her free hand, she wraps her hand around the wound on her shoulder. Pulling her hand away, she grimaces. 

“Ugh,” she mutters, looking up at Kylo who watches her carefully. “Lots of blood. These robes were new, too.” 

“You’ve obviously been busy, Rey,” he bites, taking his saber in his hand again. His strength appears to be broken, the pain of his wound obviously hindering his step. _I’ll use that to my advantage,_ Rey thinks. “You’ve got more control.” 

“Yeah, well,” she hisses. “I had a good teacher.” 

Igniting the saber, she rushes forward again, this time with an upper hand. 

\- 

Lowering his bow with relief as Rey is released, Finn narrows his eyes. 

“Shit,” he curses, spotting four of the five knights racing towards him. He glances at Falcon, who’s staring at him expectantly. “Do I take the horse and leave her… or do I stay and fight?” 

Falcon whinnies nervously, and shaking his head, Finn mounts up, and races off over the hill. In the distance, the salt basin extends to the horizon as the terrain grows more rocky. 

Barreling into the mouth of the cave that was the old Rebellion base, Finn is surrounded by at least thirty expectant eyes. Much less than there had been before. 

A handler takes the reins from him, and he pushes towards what appears to be a command center. Entering, he finds the remained of their leadership surrounding a table, and talking quietly. 

Poe spots him in the doorway, and Finn guesses it’s his panicked features that draw him away. They step out into an empty hallway, and Poe lets out a concerned breath. 

“The Knights are coming,” Finn whispers, and Poe’s gaze twists into something darker. 

“Where’s Rey?” 

“She’s holding Kylo off, but she couldn’t take them all by herself, so I drew them here where we could fight them all together.” 

“He almost killed her the last time, what do you think he’s going to do now?” Poe hisses, anxiously tightening a fist around the leather of his coat. 

“You taught her the swordwork yourself, she spent weeks wherever you sent her, and this time, she’s prepared to defend herself,” Finn sighs. “She can do this.” 

“It’s our job to fight them off now,” he resigns, a concern growing in his eyes that Finn knows all too well. “For everyone we’ve lost.” 

\- 

With persistence, Rey seems to be tiring him out, but in the same sense, every muscle in her body screams with protest, ready to collapse in exhaustion when the adrenaline rush crashes. 

The thought of who she is protecting helps her push on, but they’re both exhausted, and Kylo has tossed away his helmet, the face of Ben Solo, a man clearly long dead, sneering at her. 

They break apart, and she limps backwards, gripping the wound on her shoulder again. 

“Why do you still fight?” He asks, eyes narrowing with something bitter. 

“I will protect my people,” she declares, wiping blood from her nose where had landed a punch. “I will protect my friends and my family, and I will never stop until I take my dying breath.” 

“Quite the statement for someone who’s nothing,” he laughs, and she straightens. “They’ve left you behind, just like your parents.” 

Her stance doesn’t falter, but she blinks with at the painful lie. 

“You have no significant blood in you,” he continues, but at this she cocks her eyebrow. This she can fight. “I was supposed to be the heir, but you took that from me!” 

“I beg to differ,” she straightens, and starts to circle him. “Search your feelings, Ben. I have always had this blood running through my veins. My mother gave me strength, and my father gave me this power and his thrown.” 

“No,” Kylo hissed, and rushes forward with clumsy blows. _“No!”_

“I am not nothing, Kylo Ren,” she grabs his wrist as he pushes her blade downwards, forcing his down beside it. “I may not have grown up in a palace, but you and I,” the blades hiss, and his extinguishes finally. With one cruel swipe, she sends a shallow, sizzling wound across his chest. Payback. He stares at her as he loses consciousness. “We are family all the same.” 

Sheathing her blade, she hooks the saber on her belt, and stumbles towards the ridge and the salty basin in succession, the after affects of the duel bearing down on her in their full weight. 

\- 

Poe turns his sword over in his hands, and as Mara joins up beside him, she shakes her head with apprehension. He studies her tired face carefully. 

“I told myself I wouldn’t get back into this fight,” She sighs, and he laughs. “But here I am, fighting for my freedom again.” 

“You have more to protect this time,” he responds, his mind flashing to Rey igniting her lightsaber before sheathing his sword again. “We all do.” 

Stepping out into the rocky entrance hall, Finn joins them as they stride towards the wide mouth of the dimly-lit cave. 

They draw their swords, and the four silhouettes approaching slowly against the stark white basin follow suit. 

“I can do this,” Finn mutters. “I can do this.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah there you go.
> 
> There will probably only be a few more chapters before I split off into a sequel so yeah.


	17. XVII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey reaches Crait, beaten and bloodied, while the Resistance faces the Knights of Ren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, writer’s block is a b*tch especially since I’m in the middle of exams at school. 
> 
> So yeah, this chapter is short so the next one can be long, and Yes I hope there will be a sequel in the near future.
> 
> Also, I didn’t proofread this so I hope everything is okay

Rey stumbled down the bank into a crevice in the cliffs just before the landscape dipped and extended into salt as far as the eye could see. She came to a sudden halt at the pile of rocks blocking her path into the caverns of the old mine. This was the right direction, she could feel it in her gut. The Force guided her. 

Frustrated she slouched onto the rocks below, her strength failing in every effort to stay conscious, to fight until the end, and to protect those she loved. The resided deep in the caves, their signatures glowing with defiance as an implacable force drew nearer. 

Running her clean hand over her face, she knows that she does not have the strength to dig through the rocks without the force, but as her exhaustion threatens to take her, silver light fills her blurring vision. The stag is perched atop the rocks, imploring her to continue.

Pushing herself onto unsteady feet and muscles that ache beyond belief, she shuts her eyes, reaching out like she’d been told to many times. Her fingertips guide the boulders away from their resting places. Once she senses that her work is complete, she drops her hand from where it had risen, and pushes forward into the various caverns ahead.

-

It’s not an easy fight, and most certainly not a fair one. 

If Poe was going to go down fighting, he was glad that it here, fighting to protect the people that had become his family. 

The clash of metal rings through the clearing, and he hardly has second to breathe in between strikes. The sun sets over the eastern horizon, and the Knights relentlessly attack. He can tell that Mara and Finn tire, and if he was as well, his aching muscles were a dead giveaway.

After minutes of analyzing his opponents fighting style, it gets easier to judge when a blow will come and when to dodge it just the same.

Just out of the way, Poe swings his arm, and elbows the knight in the center of his back. He falls to the ground and Poe whips around, holding the tip of his blade to his opponent’s throat. 

Their mask is cast away, and he sees the face of the Knight, a man not much older than Ben, but whose face is twisted by something corrupted. His golden eyes glimmer with fear, and for the first time that day, Poe hesitates.

“Yield,” he says shakily, cautiously shifting on his feet as Finn fights off two, while Mara overpowers the other. He glances just long enough to see her stab them through the stomach, twisting her sword as the knight cried out in pain. There was no getting up for them after that

The knight below him drops his blade and it clatters onto the salt-coated ground.

But Finn is forced to strike down one of the others in defense, as the blade comes too close for comfort. Mara doesn’t hesitate to wound the last one, and Finn helps him restrain the final one. 

They retreat inside, and some of the others tie up the remaining Knight. Now to find a more protected way out of that cavern. They could travel on foot as far Kashykk before darkness fell the next day, but even then, the mid and core cities no longer held the protection they once did.

With the coup that had taken place, the country was in turmoil, and most of the people chose to save themselves rather than aligning with what they thought was right. Then again, Poe thought it was typical for the holders of power to reach and grab for more power as it was offered. Rey never took or hungered for power, he had noticed, she treated like a gift and like a burden, and–

“ _Poe_ ,” he whipped around, and there she was, clutching her shoulder, blood splattered on her face, and bruising growing visible above her collar. She looked as if she were about to collapse, and as soon as that thought slipped into his head, she lurched forward, and he dove to catch her.

“Medic!” He called over his shoulder, and Finn rushes to his side, his face darkening when he saw Rey’s limp form. “ _Medic!_ ”

-

His hand was warm in hers when she woke, not even a few moments later, or at least that’s what it felt like.

Her arm was wrapped tight with bandage, and her head was pounding. Blinking slowly, she pushed herself up. Poe leaned forward to help her, and he blinked worriedly. 

The Medic in the room paid no attention as they tended to the others, and she swung her feet off the cot. 

“We need to leave,” She grunted, rubbing her wrists where the metal guards had been removed and rewrapped. “They know we’re here, Kylo Ren is incapacitated but we can’t hole up in one place or they’ll come back, with an army this time.”

“I know,” he whispers, placing a hand over her chest, coming to the chain that she had tucked beneath her tunic. “But there are many wounded that we cannot leave behind.”

Rey blinks, and turns to look at the rocky hold, where across the way, Rose lies unconscious, Finn hovering over her, glancing at them over his shoulder. He raises a hand, and Rey lifts one of her own, her brow furrowing. 

“You’re okay?” He asked carefully, brushing a stray curl out of her face, almost as if he was assuring himself she was real. 

But in that moment, the weight of everything seemed too much, and she wasn’t sure she knew the answer to that question. Instead she just took his hand in hers, warm, familiar, real, and looked him in the eye, with a pained smile. 

He leaned forward to close the distance, and she tilted her head, shutting her eyes.

“General Dameron,” comes a voice in the doorway, and he sighs against her lips before pulling away. “General Leia and Vice Admiral Holdo would like a word.”

Rey recognizes the officer from briefings before her departure from D'Qar, and the young woman bows to her with a respectfully awkward smile.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Connix,” he groans, almost unnoticeably annoyed. “I’ll be along in a moment.”

“Yes, sir,” she chirps, and dips out of the room back the way she came. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, gripping her hand tighter. “Duty calls, as it seems. Get some more rest, we’ll talk later.”

“Okay,” she manages, not wanting to let go of him then. He slips from her grip, and she lies back down. Her eyes flicker shut. Sleep is restless, but dreamless for once. 

-

He strides into the room, a little frustration brimming. He deserved rest too, he deserved a break too, right?

Maybe it was having Rey back and wanted to have her to himself, or maybe it was the fact that he was completely and totally exhausted, or even that there was a high security prisoner under close supervision not a few rooms over, but Poe was begging to feel rather vexed. No, no Poe was already vexed, but he had to stay calm or Holdo wouldn’t let him hear the end of it. 

The two woman looked at him with furrowed brows as he stood in front of them, arms crossed. _Force,_ he thought, _better wipe that look off your face, whatever it is, Dameron._

“You called for me,” he sighed, holding back the annoyance with all the strength he could muster.

“Yes, General,” Holdo speaks first, appearing to attempt to compose herself as well. “Let’s get straight to the point. You need to leave.”

He let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. 

“What about the wounded?”

“I will stay behind with the med team and the injured,” she started. 

“I will begin to lead the others towards Yavin IV,” Leia adds. “And you will take Rey and Lady Mara to Coruscant, where you will rendezvous with Black Squadron.”

He bites his lip, and considers the possible outcomes. 

“Although scattering seems a good strategic move,” he whispers. “Why should we risk the Queen by taking her into the heart of First Order territory?”

Leia laughs half heartedly, and he raises his brow. 

“I understand your want to protect her, but for the most part, the country believes her to be dead. Her life is a secret kept among the Resistance, and in addition to that, I’m sure the Duke and Duchess would grant you shelter while you harbor their sister.”

Yeah, he knows better now than to argue with Leia. 

“The First Order may be in power,” Holdo sighs. “But there are no shortage of people that we can recruit.”

Poe scratched his chin, where the beginnings of a beard had begun to grow untamed. There were multiple unpleasant outcomes to this plan, but it seems they were already in an unpleasant place. 

“When do we leave?” He asked, trying to hide his wavering resolve. 

“First thing in the morning,” Leia grunts, pushing herself to her feet with her cane. “I’ll speak with Mara, you go gather supplies and speak with Rey. We’ll see you at sunrise.”

“Yes ma’am,” He salutes, and Holdo nods. He can tell by the look in her eye that she can see his slight displeasure with having to be separated from the whole of the Resistance again. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t,” Leia sighs, placing a hand on his shoulder as she left the room. Up close, her face is more tired and grief-ridden than he had seen her, at least not since Luke had died. “That’s why you’re here.”

Poe hesitates to leave as Holdo watches him carefully. 

“Do you know why I pushed so hard for someone else to take your place all those years ago?”

“Because you thought I was inexperienced and you disagreed with most of my morals?”

She huffs a laugh as she came closer, and shook her head. 

“I didn’t disagree with your morals,” she clarified gruffly. “You made a few misguided decisions over the years, but you were promising. Had I known Luke was going to die, I would’ve accepted it quicker, but you were reckless, and I thought that maybe showing you there would be people who opposed you would wake up.”

Poe chuckled quietly, annoyed again.

“Foolish, yes, I know, but it worked didn’t it?” He blinks, and considers her as she smiles cautiously at him. “Leia treasures your presence and so does Rey, and you are far more worthy of such praise than I could’ve imagined then.

“I think it’s part of my character to be rather judgemental but if I disagree with you in the future, it’s probably misplaced.”

“Thank you, Holdo,” he replies, genuinely. “I probably wouldn’t be in this position without you, and the rebellion would probably be as good as dead. You’re a strong leader, and it does good things to my pride to know I have some form of your approval.”

She smiles gently as she passes him, leaving him alone in the rocky room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One Chapter Left!!! If you’ve stuck around since the beginning, thanks for joining me on my first AO3 fic!!


	18. XVIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Resistance departs towards its future, for better or for worse.

The next morning, Rey sunk beside Finn and Rose, taking her free hand in her own. Finn peered at her through tired eyes, and she blinked away regretful tears.

“I should’ve been there,” she shuttered, gripping Rose’s hand and bringing it close to her heart. “This wouldn’t have happened if I was.”

“You did what you could, “ Finn whispered, his gaze gentle. “You helped save the Resistance, and now we have a chance to fight again.”

“But Rose-”

“Rose will survive. Kalonia is doing brilliant work.”

Rey considered what Poe had told her after he had returned from his meeting, and shifted her grip anxiously. Leia and Holdo’s plan stirred unnease within her, but she was not one to disobey orders. They’d be leaving in a few hours, just as the sun would begin to bear down on the salty plain. 

“I have to leave again,” she sighed, considering what he might say, but no surprise crosses his features. “We’re headed to Coruscant; Mara is coming with us…”

“Are you going to be okay?” He asks her, and she can’t meet his eyes, thinking of everything that has come to pass.

In the wake of being overthrown, she’d lost so many things she’d fought hard to protect. With the fast pace of the New War, Rey had barely any time at all to let it sink in. Separated from her family that was not by blood, she experienced a rude awakening regarding her true place in all this. 

After so many years of thinking her parents left her behind, she feels no remorse for her mother, who acts as if selling her into slavery was some form of protection. Her father, however, (though she was still angered by the fact that he thought hiding on some island would do the people who loved him any good) was much more to her than she could’ve expected, and in turn, he gave her much more family than she’d known she’d had before. 

It seemed like all that was left for her, though, was Leia, who didn’t know her brother was still alive and who was morning the loss of both her son and her husband. 

Han Solo was dead now, and it felt like it was her fault. 

“I know that look,” came his voice, pulling her from her thoughts. “It’s okay to not be okay. Even if you’re the queen of this country.”

“For most of my life, I was alone,” she choked back tears. “And now the people that I love…” she looks towards Rose’s peaceful face as she lies unconscious between them. “They seem to always get hurt because of me. I have so much more than I ever imagined I could but in some ways it hurts more than being alone.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to face Nya and Devon Jade now that I know who I am, especially now that I know who I am. But we have to face the truth one day or another, and I’d rather it be sooner rather than later.”

-

She shrugged her cloak on, slinging her bag over her shoulder again. Tying her boots decisively, she emerged into back ends of the caverns, where a small group of people awaited. 

Her mind is blank, and walking towards them, where expectant eyes are trained on her, she’s not sure if she’s ready to say goodbye. No, that’s selfish, but leaving them behind felt wrong.

Poe reaches out for her, and she leans into his touch, and she watches his lips move, shaping a question, but she doesn’t hear it. 

“What?” She whispers, placing a hand on his shoulder. He turns back to her with worried eyes, but Rey shakes her head, imploring him not to ask.

“Okay,” he replies, his gaze tender. “I asked if you were ready.”

“Almost.” She slips towards Leia, who holds out both her hands. Rey wraps her arms around her, blinking back tears. 

“You’ll be alright,” Leia whispers. “You always are.”

She slowly releases her, and Rey pulls away, willing herself to go on. She shakes Holdo’s hands, who gives her a warm smile, and pauses where Finn looks at his feet, clearly exhausted with a distant gaze.

She places her hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention back to the present moment. No words are needed to be spoken between them, and she pulls him into a firm embrace.

As she approaches the pair of horses, a few of the other soldiers dip to their heads in respect, and she stiffens. She’d never be used it, and it had been so long since she’d been acknowledged like that. 

Poe finished his conversation with his Captains, and hugs each one of them tightly. Kaydel smiles, and Kaz gives her a meaningful nod as she approaches.

“Shall we, General?” She places a hand on the small of his back, and he takes it in his as he faces her. 

“Of course, My Queen,” he kisses her knuckles, and leads her towards where Midnight and Falcon stand side by side. He gives her a boost onto Midnight, and mounts up behind her, while Mara throws her foot over Falcon’s back, giving the mare a reassuring pet. 

He adjusts the saddlebag and the quiver of arrows beside them, and she pulls her hood up as Leia approaches them one last time.

She offers Poe a hand, and he takes it, gripping it tightly. 

“Take care of him,” Leia chuckles, and Rey let out a lighthearted breath.

“I will,” she responds, grabbing the reins, and they trot off, in the morning light, and climbed the ravine towards Coruscant.

-

Kylo Ren fell to his knees before the Alderaan throne, where Snoke tightened his fists disapprovingly, and the whole room cowered as his power surged menacingly. 

“Take off that mask,” he growled, and Kylo did not hesitate, lifting it off before slamming it onto the palace floor. Snoke stands, and descends the steps towards him.

There’s a tense moment where the Supreme Leader simply stands over him.

“You failed, My young apprentice.”

Inside him, Ben Solo whimpers with fear, but Kylo Ren holds him down, and he raises his gaze to face Snoke once again. 

“Supreme Leader, I–”

“General Hux,” Snoke beckons, and the pasty, red headed man stalks forward, a smug look painting his face. “You shall be taking control of ours forces in Kylo Ren’s place. It is clear that he requires more training.”

The sting of his words burn at Kylo Ren, and the anger stirs within him violently.

But that small part of what used to be Ben Solo speaks quietly; He should’ve listened to Rey. He never should’ve led Tallie on, and he never should’ve killed her. He never should have betrayed his brother. 

But as he rose to his feet, darkness swept those thoughts away, and he lifted his gaze to the painting of Vader and the Emperor of the Old. 

“I truly thought you were Vader’s heir,” Snoke sunk back into the throne, and he flinched. “But you’re nothing more than a child. Perhaps we must assess our revelations regarding the young Queen, and use it to our advantage.”

The sound of heels clicking up stone step beneath a billowing gown of charcoal, whipped through his ears, and the image of her eyes, corrupted and golden filled his vision, and ravaged his mind. 

“She may still be useful to us yet.”

-

Poe startled awake, taking in a harsh breath before frantically looking around. 

When his eyes fell upon her face, he let out a sigh of relief. She was real.

They were curled up by the remaining embers, and Rey was nestled into his side, deeply asleep. A tense crease rested in between her brow, and he was sure it hadn’t been there a few months ago. 

But at least she was here, and she was safe, and even though they were far from the same people they had been before they’d been attacked in Yavin, nothing about the way she made him feel had changed. Her warmth is reassuring, and she stirs as he runs a finger through her curls, and pulls the blanket a little further up on her shoulders.

Rey hums quietly before shifting again, wrapping an arm around his waist and gripping the chain around her neck in the other. 

_Safe, real, alive,_ he tells himself, but it’s almost not enough to prevent the planted memories from flooding his mind again. 

As if subconsciously, her hand comes to rest over his heart, and a warm pulsing comes through it. The Force sings a lullaby he hasn’t heard since his mother died, and he wonders where she’d learnt it. 

But before he gets the courage to wake her up to ask, he’s drifting again, the thought put out on the edge of his mind.

-

Poe thinks it’s luck that they got into the city without being recognized, but Rey knows better. Rain pours down in heavy droplets, and they stomp down into the mud, and she can barely hear her own thoughts over the roar of the water.

They approach the door slowly, and Mara lingers behind them, unsure of herself.

“Are we certain that this will work?”

“No,” Poe calls. “But we have to believe it will.”

Without hesitating, Rey steps forward, and bangs the door knocker as loud as she can. Not soon after, it creaks open, shining yellow light onto their faces. 

“Who are you?” Comes the young man’s voice. “We’re not accepting guests at this time.”

He goes to slam the door, but Mara pushes past them, a desperate look on her face. 

“Erid?” She whispers, pulling her good down to reveal her face. “Is that you?”

The boy, likely only a few years older than Rey, brushing his well-kept, scarlet curls out of his face, opens the door again, and his eyes are wide with recognition. 

“Aunt Mara, you’re alive?”

Poe and Rey exchange a glance, and this does nothing to ease her nerves, if only worsens them. 

“Please, come in,” he stutters, and as she brushes past him, his eyes catch hers, and there’s a certainty in them. Rey hopes she wasn’t making the wrong choice.

He rushes them to a small room off the entry hall, and slams the door shut behind him. Erid eyes them suspiciously, and Poe drops his hood, and holds a hand out for Rey’s cloak. 

He startled as she pulled it away, and he stumbles to his knees, evidently shocked that she was alive as well. 

“My Lady,” he pants, and she kneels in front of him, grabbing his arms, and pulling him up again. 

“There’s no need for formalities here, kid,” Poe interjects. “But we do need your help.”

Rey thinks Erid might tuck his tail between his legs, turn his back on them and rub, but a clear attachment to Mara prevents it. 

“Where can we begin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not where this story ends, but this is more of a caesura before a shift in voice, and character. 
> 
> Things to expect in the sequel:  
> -(More) Letters   
> -Incarnations of Rey’s (various) visions   
> -Battle training   
> -More lightsaber duels  
> -More flashbacks   
> -and a wedding (probably)
> 
> If there’s anything you want to see, let me know in the comments!!

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it! A nice little glimpse into the world I've created for these characters that I love so much. The plot is a little messy and slow at first, I have to admit, but I hope you stick bare with me! I might post the next chapter tomorrow or within the next few days if you guys are interested! In the mean time, I don't know how many times I have proofread this, but all feedback is greatly appreciated!


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